Scars of the Past
by Lindz
Summary: COMPLETE!!!!! An alternative version to the Final Fantasy 7 storyline, focusing on the Turks and certain Shinra Employees. Please R&R I promise if people do I will start reviewing more too!!!!
1. Prologue Reno's Anguish

**Scars of the Past**

_ The world of Final Fantasy Seven._

_Avalanche has just blown up Reactor Number One._

_Did anyone think what kind of effect it had on the people behind Shinra?_

_Did anyone think what it did to Reno of the Turks?_

_This is Scars of the Past._

_The story of Shinra._

_How it effected them._

_How one little thing can change someone's life forever._

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_Don't you know that you're a part of my heart – And these emotions that I got from the start – Are still with me babe – And I'm tripping above my words to say – No one ever told me love could be this sweet – Breathing easy Breathing easy – This time we should be giving in - No one ever told me love could be this sweet - Breathing easy Breathing easy. (Sugababes – Breathe Easy)_  
  
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**Prologue - Reno's Anguish**  
  
Reno gazed at the golden ring that lay in the palm of his hand. Pushing away lightly from against the toilet door, he clenched his hand around the ring, brought his arm back and tossed it across the room, with all the anger he possessed. It hit the mirror with a ping and fell to the floor, rolling around for a few seconds before coming to a complete stop. The Turk stared where the band had landed for a few seconds, before shutting his eyes tight and leaned back against the door. A few tears escaped from underneath his closed eyelids. He opened his eyes and caught sight of a blonde haired man stood in the door way.  
  
"So this is where you've been hiding" The blonde edged a little further into the room and closed the door behind him.  
  
"Fuck off Rufus." Reno turned around and knocked his head against the door. Rufus stared at the red haired male. He did expect to hear the red head speak. "Why did it have to be Reactor one……?" Reno's voice died off into a whisper. The Vice President continued to gaze at the red head. He formed his mouth to answer him when he was cut off. "Why not one of the other seven bastard things??" Reno slammed his fist against the toilet door making it swing open, banging against the plastic coated wall. The Turk spun around to face Rufus. He glared at the blonde for a few seconds before dropping his gaze and walking out the room without another word.  
  
Rufus looked intently at the open door for a few minutes before switching his gaze to the ring left on the floor. The blonde haired man bent down to pick up the band and noticed the engraving on the inside of it. He read it out loud to himself.

  
"These emotions that I got from the start are still with me, Reno and Adrienne." Rufus shook his head and closed his fingers around the ring "Maybe one day you'll find out, Reno. Maybe it was fate"  
  
  
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The red haired Turk stormed down the corridor of the 40th floor, twirling his nightstick in one hand as if fiddling with it would make all his problems go away. He walked into the elevator and pushed the button for the sixtieth floor. He didn't notice the bald headed man stood in the lift with him.  


"Rufus found you then" It was more of a statement than a question, but Reno had a sarcastic comment like always.  


"No I'm still in hiding; the man you see at the moment is nothing but a holographic image. Of course he fucking found me Rude! Gesh, sometimes I think you was born with no brain." Rude stared at Reno for a while before attempting to talk again.  


"You know you can talk to me right?" Reno turned to look at Rude and stared at him like it was the weirdest thing he had ever said. His face then soften and he switched his gaze to look at the glowing numbers on the elevator control panel.   


"I know" The red haired man whispered to his stoic friend. "The only thing I wanna do at this moment in time is find the most gruesome way for a person to die and make each Avalanche member stand there and endure it" Reno turned and stared out the window at all the little people going around their business. In barely a whisper he said "But it won't bring Adrienne back will it?" The lift pinged and Reno walked out the doors.  


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	2. Chapter 1 Elena the SOLDIER

**Scars of the Past**

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_I am thinking of you - In my sleepless solitude tonight - If it's wrong to love you - Then my heart just won't let me be right - 'Cause I've drowned in you - And I won't pull through - With out you by my side - I'd give my all - To have just one more night with you - I'd risk my life - To feel your body next to mine - 'Cause I can't go on - Living in the memory of our song - I'd give my all for your love tonight. (Mariah Carey – My all)_  
  
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**Chapter 1 - Elena the SOLDIER**  
  
Elena walked away from the rubble of Reactor one. She brought her arm up to rub the ash out of her eyes as well as some of the left over tears. The blonde shook her head then mumbled to herself.

"SOLDIERS shouldn't cry. SOLDIERS shouldn't cry" She stopped walking, took a deep breathe to try and prevent new tears. It didn't work. Bringing her hand up again, she turned round to look back at the reactor. There were twisted bits of steal everywhere. Smoke was still rising from the wreck, even three days after it happened. "Who am I kidding" She whispered to herself. "I can't believe Adrienne's gone" She continued to stare trying to hold back the memories of her best friend. The blonde then felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around swiftly, to stare the black haired man in the face. "Shit, Reeve. What you doing down here?" Reeve raised his eyebrows and looked intently at her for a minute. Elena instantly felt a fool when the answer clicked in her head. Of course he would be here, it's virtually his god damn reactor. She shook her head. "Okay bad question isn't it?" Reeve just nodded his head.

"You ok?" Reeve decided to ask his eyes fixed on the twisted remains of the reactor. 

"I'll be fine" She paused for a minute. "Shit, I need to find Reno" 

"No need. I'm right here" The blonde haired woman looked over Reeve's shoulder to see the red head, dressed in some blue jeans and a white T-shirt that had begun to lose it's colour. Grabbing on to Reno's hand, was a little red haired boy, rubbing his eyes with his other hand. The boy couldn't be any older than three. He looked up at Reno then tugged his arm. 

"Daddy" The boy stared at his father with tears in his eyes, his arms stretched out for Reno to pick him up. The Turk bent down and grasped hold of the child's waist and rested him on his hip. Reeve walked over to where Reno was stood and stretched out his arms.

"I'll take Callum for a while; Elena wants to talk to you" The Shinra Executive grasped the boy as Reno let Reeve take him. "Tell you what Callum what do you say to an Ice Cream?" Callum's eyes lit up for just a second at what the black haired man was telling him and nodded his head. Reeve put the little red head on the ground. They then walked away from the reactor. The red haired Turk stared at them for a while before Elena walked over to him. 

"How did Callum take it?" The blonde asked warily.

"How do you think a three year old takes it, when you tell him that his mummy is never coming home?" Reno turned round to look at the blonde SOLDIER. He hesitated before speaking. "You know, there hasn't been a minute I haven't sat there and wished all this shit was a dream, just hoping I would wake up any minute to find everything was ok." One stray tear ran down his cheek. Elena glanced at him for a minute, then looked towards the floor. "Hey El." Elena brought her eyes back to the Turk, waiting for him to continue. "Look after Callum for me. I gotta go and do something." She looked Reno in the eye then nodded.

"Aren't you on leave?" The blonde asked.

"Yeah. But it doesn't mean I can't do anything." Reno turned to walk towards Shinra HQ.

"Reno!" Elena shouted "Don't go and do anything stupid ok?" She said a bit quieter but the Turk heard her. He turned back around, looking the younger girl in the eye.

"I won't" Reno gave her a slight smile then jogged off. 

Reeve came back to see the red haired man jogging away. The little boy was clutching onto his hand with an Chocolate ice cream in the other hand, ice cream all over his mouth. He had a smile on his face, which faulted a little, when he saw his father leaving. Callum ran over to Elena and tugged her uniform.

"Elly, where's daddy going?" The blonde gazed at the boy then smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Just gone to take care of something ok? He'll be back soon." The blonde bent down to the boy's level. "Meanwhile, you're gonna be with me. How do you like that?" That seemed to cheer the boy up a little more. He nodded his head furiously.

"You gonna be ok looking after him?" The head of Urban Development questioned.

"Of course I am. I owe it Adrienne." Reeve nodded his head.

"I've gotta get back ok. You just go home. I'll make an excuse up for you" The black haired man patted Callum on the head. Callum looked up.

"Thank yoo for the ice scream, Mishter Deushi" Reeve smiled at the boy. 

"You're a life saving you know Reeve" Elena picked up the boy and hoisted him on to her hip.

"Well what are cousins for you know. I just hope I catch Heidegger in a good mood" He chuckled at that.

"You'll be lucky, because if Reno gets to him first he'll be pissed off. I think he has a knack of being able to piss the fat ass off without trying" Elena started laughing "I'll see you later ok"

"I'm sure you will El" With that Reeve opened his car door and got in.

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"GET OUT!!!!!" The door of Heidegger's office flung open and a red haired Turk got pushed out. He stumble a little, but turned to look through the doorway. "I DON'T WANNA SEE YOU UNLESS IT'S SOMETHING IMPORTANT. NOW GET LOST!" The door slammed shut. Reno leaned against the wall and shut his eyes.

"It's important to me though" He said under his breath. Just then the lift doors opened to reveal the Wutian Turk. 

"I thought I could here Heidegger shouting. What you doing here any way?" He asked Reno as he walked towards him. "You. Mister. Reno. Komiya. Are. Meant. To. Be. On. Leave" Tseng said jabbing his finger at the other Turk's chest after every word.

"Well it's my sworn duty to piss fat bastard off everyday, so I had to live up to it." Reno looked at his feet. "Anyway, I had to ask him something." Reno stared at the office door, his voice dropping to a hushed tone. "I just wanna rip Avalanche a part at this moment in time, but he won't have it." He sighed. The leader of the Turks put his arm around the other man. 

"We all do Reno, but it won't happen over night. We'll get them." He took his arm back. "I can see you're not going to stop at home, so why don't you go down to the office, Rude's in there under some paper work somewhere." Tseng stopped, looking over the heart broken Turk. "We'll think of something." He gave Reno one of his rare smiles then into Heidegger's office. 

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Rude Arakawa sat in front of the computer. Next to him on the desk, sat what felt like five feet of paper work. On the other side of him sat his cup of coffee that had gone cold hours ago. He took his sunglasses off and rubbed his tired eyes. Putting them in his top pocket, he began to type again.

"If you type anymore, your fingers are gonna just drop off, then where would we be?" Rude turned his attention to the Turk leaning on the door frame.

"Should have guessed you couldn't stay away for too long." The bald headed man gave a slight smile to the other "What you doing here anyway and where's the kid?"

"You all know how to make a guy welcome don't you? And he's with a friend" He paused for a minute "Shit I'm gonna get her into trouble with Heidegger" He smacked his hand against his head. 

"She?" Rude raised an eyebrow.

"Yes she. She was Addy's best friend...." Reno's voice died off towards the end. "Anyway she was supposed to on duty. Damn it." He kicked the door frame lightly.

"What is she anyway?" Rude asked while getting up, walking over to the coffee machine.

"She's a SOLIDER First Class. Has been for about 5 years, I think. She was about the only person I could flirt with and Addy wouldn't get pissed off with me" The red head smiled at that thought. He went over to the couch and fell onto it. "She's been helping me out with Callum, so I thought she wouldn't mind looking after him for a few hours." Reno let his head fall against the back of the sofa. Rude let his hazel coloured eyes stare at Reno for a little while. 

"You know, Sarah would look after the kid if you wanted her to. That way it would stop your friend getting in trouble." Rude offered his best friend. The other Turk brought his head back up to look at him.

"I know your wife would help Rude. I just wasn't thinking straight I knew where Elly would be, so I went to find her." He let his head fall back again. The door hurled open to show an angry looking black haired Turk. Tseng walked in and slammed the door shut that hard that a picture fell off the wall. Reno looked up again.

"What's up Boss?" The red haired Turk stared his boss in the eye. The Turk Leader rubbed his face with one hand then leaned on the closed door. 

"Avalanche have struck again." Tseng watched as the red haired Turk's face welded up with anger a little. "They just blew up the number five Reactor." The Turk leader sighed. "But on the positive side we've found where they're based." Tseng went to sit behind his desk. Reno got up and went to sit on the edge of the table.

"What's the bad side?" Rude asked still stood near the coffee machine. Tseng looked over to Rude then to Reno. The stern look on his face never faltering.

"The President wants us to release the Sector Seven plate to kill them."

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	3. Chapter 2 The Plate Drops

**Scars of the Past**

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_What will I do - If I can't be with you - Tell me where will I turn to - Baby where will I be - We are apart - Am I still in your heart? - Baby why don't you see? - That I need you here with me - I've been sitting here - Can't get you off my mind - I've tried my best to be a man and be strong - I've drove myself insane - Wishing I could touch your face - But the truth remains - You're gone_ _ (N*Sync – Gone)_  
  
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**Chapter 2 - The Plate Drops**  
  
"WHAT!?" Reno slammed his hands on Tseng's desk, with all the anger he possessed. "You can't be serious!?" The leader of the Turks just put his head in his hands, rubbing his whole face. "They want us to destroy a whole sector above and under it just to kill 6 people?" The red head walked away from the desk, muttering under his breath. 

"Yes Reno. They want us to kill over two thousand people, just to get rid of Avalanche." Tseng leaned back on his chair. "Shinra doesn't like being threaten, so destroying the sector is like trying to regain their pride" He let his head rest on the back of the chair and started at the ceiling. "But they don't want us to do it, they want you to do it Reno." Reno stared at his boss for a few minutes, letting the news sink in. He shook his head.

"This is all fucked up." Reno let himself drop onto the couch. "I want them dead alright but I don't wanna drop the plate just to do it." His anger welling up yet again. "Hell, I bet it doesn't even work."

"I knew Shinra were immoral but I didn't think they were capable of doing this" Rude mumbled from across the room. 

"I don't think any of us were Rude." Tseng sighed. He looked over to the bald Turk. "You'll pilot the helicopter, drop Reno off at the top of the pillar, then you and I will go and find the Ancient. There's been word that she's with Avalanche now, so she shouldn't be too far away. Once we get her, we'll go back for Reno..."

"Hang on a sec" Reno butted in "You mean I have to face Avalanche all alone while the two of you go after a girl. Why do I sense I get the bad end of the deal?" Tseng looked over at Reno.

"I know, but I can't do anything else we need someone to pilot the copter since I don't want to get anyone else involved in this." Tseng answered back. Reno hesitantly nodded.

"Ok. But If anything happens to me, I'll hate you for life got it?" Reno told him. Tseng glimpsed at Reno for a second.

"If there was any other way I would do it. You know that." The Turk leader got out of his chair and walked towards the door. "Lets get it over with then" With that he walked out the room. The other two Turks looked at each other, then followed.

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Aboard the helicopter, Reno was sat in one corner spinning his nightstick, now dressed in his Turk uniform with no tie and his shirt out. The Wutian glanced at the red head for a second and shook his head. Reno looked to be in deep thought, before he stood up and walked over to sit in the seat next to Rude. 

"Rude if anything happens to me I want you to go and get Callum from Elly and look after him for me ok?" The youngest Turk asked quietly. He pulled a piece of paper out of top pocket and gave it his friend. "She lives here" Rude took a quick glance at Reno.

"Nothing is going to happen...."

"I know, but if it does" Reno cut him off. Rude stole another glance at his friend, before he hesitantly answered him.

"Alright." Rude replied. Tseng walked up to join the other two men.

"We're here Reno." 

"Yeah yeah, I'm as good as gone. Wish me luck won't you?" With that Reno jumped onto the platform below. He landed gracefully onto the grating and ran over to the machine. '_Ignore Avalanche and they might not do anything........... yeah right Reno, that's just wishful thinking. May as well say something_' He pressed a few buttons '_Which one was it again........ ah got it._' He pressed one more button before addressing Avalanche.

"You're too late. Once I push this button..." He found the big red button that was now glowing and pressed it "That's all, folks! Mission accomplished." He looked up to see three Avalanche members stood there their faces etched with panic. _ 'Heh they have no idea do they_'. The girl decided to speak.

"We have to disarm it! Cloud! Barret! Please!" She shouted, Reno just looked at her _ 'These people so don't look like terrorists'_ He decided to speak.

"You people have no idea what you've got yourselves into do you?" Reno said while shaking his head. The blonde looked at him, Cloud he figured his name out to be.

"What do you mean?" Cloud looked at him puzzled. 

"Well I sure as hell didn't want to do this, but I'm just Shinra's puppet I do whatever they tell me. If there was any other way to do this...." He stopped for a moment "Why am I telling you all this shit!" He started to shout. "You wanna know why? When you blew up reactor one, you killed my wife!" He looked at their faces. He was positive that Cloud and Tifa's faces faulted for just a second. "I want nothing to get revenge, but even I don't want it like this"

"It's all lies so shut yer hole!" The coloured man said before aiming his gun arm at Reno and shooting. The Turk felt every bullet enter him he had no time to dodge the attack, because it was so sudden.

"Neo-Turk Light!" The electrical ball shot towards Barret and hit it's target, the coloured man faulted a little, then stood his ground. Before Reno knew it, Tifa was nearly on top of him and made a well placed punch towards his jaw, which hit dead on. The red head stumbled back a few pace, brought his hand up to his lip and brushed away the tiny bit of red liquid that was there. '_That's it bitch._' He ran towards the brown haired woman and jabbed her with his nightstick. She fell to the floor, as soon as she did the blonde was upon Reno in a flash bringing his sword down. Reno managed to dodge out of the way but the blade caught his arm and drew more blood. '_Shit this really isn't going to well what next.........?'_ He brought up his nightstick again and casted a pyramid that encased the blonde. Reno watched at the blonde tried to slice his way out of it, Cloud singled Tifa to attack it'_Shit! More clever than I thought.'_ As soon as the girl finished attacking the pyramid, she ran towards Reno again. She thumped him in the stomach with all her might. The Turk cursed as she knocked the wind out of him. As he was trying to recover, Cloud was at him again bringing up his sword and slashed him across the stomach. '_God damnit! that's really hurts you bastard!' _He cried in his mind.Lucky for Reno, he heard the helicopter coming back. He pulled himself up with the last bit of his energy and looked at the Avalanche members. "It's time" He hollered to them, as he ran to the platform edge and jumped off. 

_'Please be there.' _He looked to see the copter and he grabbed onto the ladder. Tseng looked out the door, his eyes showing some concern. "You know Tseng, a little help would be nice." The Turk leader grasped hold of Reno's wrist and pulled him up. The red head landed on his hands and knees breathing hard. Tseng looked at him.

"Shit Reno, you ok?" He asked bending down.

"I'll be fine in a bit" Reno looked up to see the Ancient hugged into the corner. "You found her then?" He turned himself over and laid on the floor. Tseng looked out the door again.

"Just hang on a bit longer ok?" He then walked over to the door. Reno heard Tseng starting to talk to Avalanche though he wasn't concentrating on what was being said as he drifted into unconsciousness.

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A few hours later Rude found himself walking along a street on the plate in sector 2. In his mind he knew he would have to do this, but was hoping he wouldn't. Sarah insisted on following.

"Rude? Are you gonna tell me where we're going? And who's this Elly?" The black haired woman rambled on next to him. 

"We are going...." He paused for a moment and looked around, then pointed towards a apartment block "There and Elly is Reno's friend" He walked into the building leaving Sarah to trail after him. After a while he found the door he was looking for and brought his arm up to knock. After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal a smallish blonde woman dressed in a SOLDIER uniform. 

"Can I help you?" Elena asked the bald headed man stood at her door, noting the uniform he was wearing. 

"I've come for Callum Reno sent me." 

"Ah, you must be Rude right?"

"How did you......"

"Reno's told me about you and the fact you're wearing a Turks uniform gave it away, and you must be Sarah right?" Elena asked turning to the small black haired woman stood next to Rude. Sarah nodded.

"We're gonna look after Callum for a while." Sarah smiled at the blonde SOLDIER. Elena hesitantly nodded.

"Let me just go and get him" Just as she said that, Callum came darting to the doorway.

"Hi" The little red head shouted and grinned. The phone in Elena's apartment began to ring.

"I'll be back in a minute ok?" She turned and walked to the phone. Callum looked up at Rude.

"Where's daddy?"

"Erm.... Daddy's a little bit... unwell right now, so we're going to look after you for a few days. Ok?" Sarah answered for the Turk. Elena came back to the doorway with a set of keys in her hand and her coat in the other. 

"Stupid fat ass wants to see me." She let out a long sigh "It better not be about not being at work today. Reeve was meant to get me out of it" She turned to Rude. "Are you going back to HQ? If you are, mind if I walk with you?"

"Yeah I'm going back and no I don't mind." Rude looked to his wife. "Sarah take Callum back home ok? I'll be back a bit late." Sarah nodded and began to walk away with Callum holding her hand. The other two began their walk back to the Shinra building.

"What happened to Reno?" Elena asked after they had been walking for a while. 

"What makes you think something's wrong?" Rude retorted back.

"Well the fact you came to pick Callum up. If he was ok, Reno would have picked him up himself" 

"You heard about the sector seven plate collapsing?" The blonde nodded a little. "They sent Reno up to release the plate and he got into a fight with Avalanche." Elena stayed silent for a while, contemplating everything that had happened in the last week. She looked back at the Turk.

"I wouldn't mind killing Avalanche myself. Addy didn't deserve to die" Elena said in a whisper. Rude silently agreed. The rest of the trip was made in silence.

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Elena found herself in front of Heidegger's office door. She took a deep breathe and knocked loudly. 

"ENTER" Came a shout from in the room. The blonde opened the door to find Heidegger sat at his desk just as she thought he would be. But what she didn't think she would see was the Leader of the Turks sat to one side. "Take a seat. I want to make this as quick as possible." Heidegger responded. Elena sat down in the chair that was placed in the middle of the room. "Since we are a Turk down at the moment and since you're the best SOLDIER in the company we've decided that you will be promoted to Turk status. G'yaaa Haaa Haaa Congratulations." The blonde haired woman just stared at the man for a minute.

"I'm a t...Turk?" She stuttered after a while. 

"G'yaaa Haaa Haaa of course. Tseng will show you around" The blonde stared at the fat man some more. She couldn't believe it. She was a Turk! Though the idea of being one never interested her, she was determined to show Heidegger that she could do this. Heidegger rose from his leather chair and walked over to the door. "If you don't mind, I have somewhere I need to be". The door slammed shut behind him. Elena remain in her seat, still gazing at the leather chair until the Turk leader's voice broke her from her trance.

"Well Elena, do you want that tour fat.......I mean Heidegger was talking about?" Elena nearly burst out laughing

"I'm glad SOLDIER's aren't the only people to call him that." She said still trying to hold back her laugh. Tseng smiled at her. 

"I'm sure everyone calls him that. I know for sure that the President does." The Turk said as he opened the door. Elena couldn't keep her laughing held in any longer and she started to giggle. "Ladies first" The blonde rose from her seat and walked towards the door. She thought about it but couldn't resist the opportunity.

"I swear if he laughs like that one more time, I'll rip his vocal chords out". Tseng looked at her for a moment then chuckled. 

"I'm sure you're going to fit in just find Elena" The Wutian whispered as she strode out the door.

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Reno awoke to find himself in a room with painfully bright white walls. He squinted for a moment while his eyes got used to the light. As he did he saw a shape that vaguely looked like Tseng. The red head turned towards it and waited for his eyes to focus. 

"So you're back in the land of the living are you? How do you feel?" The Wutian asked.

"I feel like I was run over by a truck, then Palmer and Heidegger kindly took it in turns to jump on me." Reno winced as he tried to sit himself up a bit. "So what do you want I can tell this isn't a pleasure visit?"

"Well it kind of is." Tseng motioned for someone to come into the room "Reno, this is the new Turk" Reno jaw nearly hit the floor when he saw who walked through the door.

"Elena?"

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	4. Chapter 3 Sephiroth Appears

**Scars of the Past**

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_ Sometimes I get so weird - I even freak myself out - I laugh myself to sleep - It's my lullaby - Sometimes I drive so fast - Just to feel danger - I wanna scream - It makes me feel alive - Is it enough to love - Is it enough to breathe - Somebody rip my heart out - And leave me here to bleed - Is it enough to die - Somebody save my life - I'd rather be anything but ordinary please_ _(Avril Lavigne – Anything but Ordinary)_  
  
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**Chapter 3 - Sephiroth Appears**  


"You two know each other then?" Tseng asked while exchanging glances between the two. Reno totally ignored the question being asked and kept staring at the blonde. After he finally picked his jaw up from the floor, he decided to speak.

"Rude has Callum then?" The red head asked moving his gaze to look at the astonishingly white bed sheets.

"Erm..... yeah well Sarah has him" Elena started to fiddle with the bottom of her new navy suit.

"Hey El, don't look so nervous. You'll do fine" Reno smiled at her. He turned his attention back to the Turk leader. "I know her through Adrienne" Reno whispered, dropping his gaze to the sheets yet again. Tseng looked almost guilt after the red head answered him. He continued looking to the blonde, who was still fiddling with the jacket, as well as looking how pretty her shiny black boots were. "Seriously though El, you'll do ok" The black haired Turks' PHS ringing interrupted Reno. Tseng answered it and began muttering away. 

"I don't want to take her place you know?" Elena whispered.

"I know you don't Elly, no one gets picked for the Turks. It's not like you had a choice." Reno smiled slightly. Elena began to feel more comfortable with the situation.

The Turk Leader's PHS finally shut off. "Shit shit shit, now Avalanche are roaming the building looking for their precious Ancient." He spat. "Come on Elena we'll go and find Rude."

"If you can hit the spiky haired blonde for me that would be great, thanks" Reno mumbled before they both left the room. Tseng chuckled.

"I'll see what I can do."

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Reeve walked out the late night meeting and sighed. So what if they weren't rebuilding Sector seven, it wasn't his problem right? He shook his head. At least he had the Neo Midgar plan to work on. 

"Why does the President have to be such a jackass sometimes?" He muttered to himself.

"Tut tut tut Reeve, don't let someone hear you say that." Reeve didn't need to turn round to know who it was. Rufus was leant against the corridor wall, using one foot, he pushed himself off and sauntered up to the Shinra Executive.

"I thought you was still in Junon?" 

"I was until...." The blonde looked at his watch "About five hours ago. The old man wanted me to come and look at something. I'm due back in Junon later tonight" Reeve nodded.

"You heard about sector seven then?" The black haired man asked as he turned and walked towards the elevator.

"Yeah..... pretty big mess from what I could see from the copter. I heard they sent Reno to do it?" They both entered the lift, and the doors fasten shut. Reeve didn't answer. The life went up a few levels then stopped. Both men looked at each other confusedly. As the doors opened, they both gaped at the silver haired man, fully clad in a black trench coat, that was walking down the hallway towards them. Rufus snapped out of his daze and pressed the first number his finger reached. The door fasten shut once more. "Whoa. Now this just gets more and more fucked up by the minute." The blonde Vice President managed to spit out as soon as he was able to make himself talk again. He slid down the glass elevator wall. 

"I couldn't have said that better myself." Reeve added as he wiped his hand over his face. The lift doors opened once again. The two men jumped half a mile into the air. 

"You two look like you've seen a ghost." The Wutian Turk asked as he glanced at Reeve and Rufus. His expression changed to a serious one. "You haven't seen Avalanche have you?" Rufus shook his head as he got up and walked out the lift, Reeve followed. 

"Maybe we look like we've seen a ghost because we have." Tseng looked at Reeve with a questioning glare. "We saw Sephiroth." The Turk's face nearly paled at the name.

"This just gets fucking worse first Avalanche are running around the building and now this."

"Avalanche are here?" Rufus whispered. He gazed over Tseng shoulder to see a nervous looking blonde fiddling with her jacket again. "Who's this?" The Shinra Executive also spotted her.

"Elena?" He looked her over "They made you a Turk?" Elena just nodded, gazing at the floor. 

"Is Sephiroth really alive?" She asked in a near whisper, her voice shaking a little. 

"You chose the worst time to become a Turk deary." The blonde said as he took a cigarette out of his top pocket and lit it. Tseng gave him a puzzled look. "Don't look at me like that it's Reno's influence"

"It's not like I had a choice in the matter." Elena replied. 

"Does everyone know you Elena?" The Turk Leader asked her. She smiled a bit.

"No you just happen to introduce me to the only 2 people in the building who know me." The look in Tseng face was urging her to go on. "Reeve is my cousin. Our surnames are the same if you didn't notice."

"So they are." The Wutian muttered after thinking it over for a few seconds. 

"Well I don't know about you Reeve, but I'm getting the fuck out of here. I don't want Sephy boy's sword running through me. I'm gonna get in a copter and hover around for a bit. Coming?" Rufus asked stubbing out his cigarette on the wall. Reeve nodded. "We'll see you two later." Rufus started towards the elevator but stopped. "I think I'll take the stairs" He spun around and walked the other way. Everyone else chuckled.

"I'll see you later El. Be careful alright?" Reeve told her as he went after a fleeing Vice President.

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The bald headed Turk was sat in the CCTV room. One of the guards had mentioned to him that he saw Avalanche enter the building via the fire escape stairs. He watched as the terrorists kept on climbing the tower in hope of finding the Ancient. Rude shook his head. How does a group of three people, four if you included the Ancient, try and defeat Shinra? The answer is they don't. 

He chuckled a little as he saw the Mayor of Midgar give his key card to the spiky haired blonde. Everyone knew how the man detested everything President Shinra did. Who could blame him? Shinra virtually took away all the privileges Domino ever had. All him and Hart ever did was look after Shinra's extensive library that was full of useless information. Not a too glamorous job for a Mayor and his assistant to do. Rude knew Tseng had entered the room but didn't turn round.

"Now how did I know you'd be in here?" The Turk strolled over to an empty chair and sat in it. 

"One of the guards told me he saw Avalanche so I came in and had a look. They're on the 65th floor now." Tseng nodded and made a once over on all the monitors before spotting the three on one of them. 

"Rude this is Elena, the new Turk I've requesting for ages." 

"Hi again" Elena whispered from the doorway.

"Hi........ I had a feeling that's what Heidegger wanted earlier." Tseng looked puzzled not for the first time tonight. Rude glanced over. "Reno asked me to pick Callum up from Elena, while I was there Heidegger phoned her."

"I have no idea why he made me a Turk, I wasn't even at work half the time." Elena dared to take another step into the room. "Reeve always used to bail me out" She began to get nervous and Tseng turned slowly and looked at her. "Reno and.... Adrienne's fault. They always made me look after the kid when they were on a mission" Whispering her friend's name. The Turk Leader then nodded at her. Elena sighed in relief. 

On one of the CCTV monitors, the Turks watched as Cloud, Tifa and Barret fought whatever creations Professor Hojo had dispatched to destroy them. The instant the last creature died, Tseng stood up. 

"Elena, you stay here and watch what Avalanche are doing. Rude, you and I are going to pay a nice visit to our neighbourhood terrorists." Elena nodded, while the other two Turks left the room. 

"I'm so glad I'm not going." The blonde mumbled to herself.  


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_(A couple of hours later)_

"We've still got be on guard, so I guess it's an all-nighter." The Wutian said slumping down on the couch in the Turks' Office. Rude took off his sunglasses and popped them in his top pocket. 

"That's something we haven't done in a long time." The stoic Turk grabbed a cup from his desk and filled it with steaming hot coffee. Elena still stood out the doorway, unsure of what to do. Tseng noticed her. 

"Elena you can sit down you know. We don't bite, only on Sundays." The blonde smiled a little. She went over and sat timidly on the sofa. The Turk leader glanced over for a second. "Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself? I mean it's going to be a long night, might as well do something to pass the time."

"Erm ok. I've been a SOLDIER first class for about 6 years........" She started to say nervously. "I'm not that interesting." The blonde whispered while trying to clean the dirt from under her finger nails. Tseng studied her for a moment.

"You was close to Adrienne then?"

"How did you........" The black haired Turk cut of the blonde before she finished

"You're as nervous as hell. I'm gathering it is because you know it's her place you're taking." 

"Got it in one. I'd known her since we were kids, we got into SOLDIER together, we shared a room together. I just miss her......." Elena trailed off, took a deep breath then continued. "Heh....... I can remember when we met Reno. Me and Addy were sat in the canteen, being the woman fanatic Reno is, and us being the only girls in SOLDIER, he came over, draped his arms around us both and said something cocky. I think it was something along the lines of, 'How 'bout you two gorgeous looking ladies escort a fine looking man like myself to dinner.'" Elena smiled a bit more.

"Sounds just like Reno." Rude muttered from the other side of the room, sipping from his cup.

"Rude, did you know that cup has teddy bears dressed in pink bows on it?" Tseng asked trying to hide his smile.

"I know. It's the only cup I have left. Reno broke the other one while throwing it across the room. He was muttering about fat ass giving him overtime again. He's broke many cups like that, they just all happened to be mine."

"I'm sure you had another cup apart from that?" Elena asked nearly bursting into laughter.

"Yeah, but I thought this one added more character." Rude said, trying to stop himself from grinning, when Elena burst out laughing. 

"Pity..... You.... Don't.... Have.... A.... Cup... With.... Little.... Teddies.... In.... Blue.... Suits.... With.... Sunglasses... On." The blonde tried to get out while still laughing. This made the other two Turks grin some more. The phone started ringing, which made Elena stop laughing. Tseng picked it up.

"Turks Office......" The blonde Turk zoned out so as not to listen to the telephone conversation. She looked around the room to see a desk, which looked like a bomb had hit it. There was paper everywhere, most of it screwed up into balls, while some of them resembled paper aeroplanes. Rude noticed her looking.

"Reno's desk" He smiled at her

"Ah, that explains everything then." Tseng put the phone down around five minutes later. 

"We have major problems. Avalanche got away, with the Ancient. None of the stupid guards could catch them...." He muttered towards the end.

"There's something else isn't there?" Elena asked. Tseng began to answer her, without the slightest bit of remorse.

"Yes. The President is dead......... killed by Sephiroth."

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	5. Chapter 4 Interlude Adrienne's Diary

**Scars of the Past**

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_Took my hand - Touched my heart - Held me close - You were always there - By my side - Night and day - Through it all - Baby come what may - Swept away on a wave of emotion - We're caught in the eye of the storm - And whenever you smile I can hardly believe that you're mine - Believe that you're mine - This love is unbreakable - It's unmistakable - And each time I look in your eyes - I know why - This love is untouchable - I feel in my heart, just can't deny - Each time I look in your eyes oh baby I know why - This love is unbreakable_ _(Westlife – Unbreakable)_  
  
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**Chapter 4 - Interlude - Adrienne's Diary**

Dear Diary,

The only way I can describe today is wow. My first day in SOLIDER and me, Adrienne Marie Arishima has already meet the cutest guy ever. His name is Reno Komiya. What a dreamy name! Okay now I'm acting like a love struck sixteen year old............ wait a minute, that's because I AM!!! I had no idea people could fall in love so fast. Elly just said he was a jerk for hitting on us. I thought it was cute. Was it wrong to think that? I don't know, I'm just confused.

After Elly had gone on duty, I snuck back to the canteen and asked him if he wanted to go out after work. HE SAID YES ^_^. So here I am all dressed up ready to go on the best night of my life. Okay maybe I'm dramatizing it a bit, but I have a feeling it will be the best night of my life. 

Addy. 

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Dear Diary,

I was right! Last night was the best night of my life. He even made the effort to get dressed up! It made me feel good to see him take it seriously. We ended up going out of Midgar!! I've never been out of Midgar, not once, not even when I was training for SOLDIER. They never sent me on missions outside the city, by the request of a certain some. My mother doesn't let me do anything on my own!! I swear sometimes I wish she was never a Shinra Executive. Anyway I'm not moaning about my mom, she not worth it for this entry.

Me and Reno went to the beach just outside Kalm. I told me he used to come here sometimes when he was younger. He surprised me and said he had brought a picnic with him. It had my favourite in it too! Double chocolate gateaux yummy! We got talking and I made him tell me about himself. He's seventeen and has been in SOLDIER for about a year. He grew up in the slums of Midgar. That made me pity him a bit. I was luck enough to grow up on the plate, with a roof over my head and a friend I could rely on. He saw the look in my eyes when he told me, but said he didn't want pity. He said he wouldn't change his childhood, which made me glad. No one should regret their childhood, it's one of the most precious things you could have. We carried on talking for hours. I really enjoyed myself. I don't think I've ever met anyone who I can talk to like I can Reno, except Elly, but she's my best friend, we understand each other more than we do ourselves. 

Just before we packed up to go back, Reno asked me if I would go out with him!!! I couldn't believe it, so naturally I said yes. He smiled. That smile just made my heart melt. I've never seen a smile that ever did that to me. He put his hands round my waist and kissed me. It was the most sweetest, gentlest kiss I've ever had! Afterwards he whispered the most sweetest thing to me I can remember every word:

I've been touched by the hands of an angel

I've been blessed by the power of love

And whenever you smile I can hardly believe that you're mine

No one has ever said anything so sweet to me before, I nearly cried. I've fell in love big time and I don't think I'll ever fall in love like this again. So I told him. He said he felt the same! Now that did make me cry. I'm always the emotion wreak, while Elly is the strong one. He never even flinched when I told him who my mom was. That's where I lose most lads, they run a mile. Reno never did. I'm going to remember this night forever.

Addy.

  
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Dear Diary,

Me and Reno have been going out a whole year now. Elly and him get on really well, which I'm glad about. I don't think I could go out with someone Elly hated. We've been best friend for like, ever. 

Elly told me her cousin, Reeve, just got promoted to the Head of Urban Development. I told her to tell him to watch out for my mom. She hits on anyone that walks, which makes me sick sometimes. Elly just laughed at me and said she'd tell him. 

Speaking of promotion, I heard that two of the Turks got killed sometime last week. They normally find people from SOLDIER first class to replace them. As far as I know no one has been picked yet. I really hope I get picked. I want to try something different. Don't get me wrong, being in SOLDIER is cool, but I've been here a year, I need a change. I'm one of those people who can't stay in one job for long. So here's to me wishing about being in the Turks.

Addy.

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Dear Diary,

I'm so happy!!! Reno proposed to me! He even told me he asked my mother first and she agreed!!! That's something that's very hard to believe, but he says she did, I have no reason to believe different. Apart from that, I'm a Turk too!!!!! They picked me! Yay for me! They made Reno one too, which made me jump around the room. I'm upset that I've got to leave Elly behind in SOLDIER, but she told me she is happy being a SOLDIER, being a Turk never appealed to her anyway. At least she is happy for me. 

The diamond in the ring is HUGE, it's surrounded by little garnet stones with a big white diamond in the middle. I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. Not even if it was made out of plastic. We were talking about the wedding till late last night. We agreed on something small, since now we're Turks we won't exactly get time to have a proper wedding. I said I didn't mind as long as I got married, which is true. I was never one of them girls who dreamed about their wedding day when they were young. All I want is a nice white dress and Elly as my bridesmaid. I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Me and Reno met the other two Turks today. The leader, Tseng, is Wutian, which I'm kinda surprised about. I mean didn't Shinra whoop their asses in the war? He seems like a nice enough bloke though, he just needs to smile a tad more. The there's the other one, Rude his name is. He never said anything the whole time. Reno tried to get him to talk but it never worked. That's until Reno cracked a joke about his sunglasses, made the big bloke smile. I'm going to enjoy working as a Turk, I can tell already.

Addy.

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Dear Diary, 

I am now officially, Mrs Adrienne Marie Komiya. It's been 6 months since Reno proposed and finally, we managed to get away from work long enough to get married. It was a really small ceremony. Elly was bridesmaid, she looked so pretty in her lilac dress. She did nothing but smile all day. I managed to drag my mum there. I told her she could stuff work for a couple of hours, nothing was going to blow up while she was gone. Lucky nothing did. Elly brought Reeve along. He looked a tad uncomfortable sitting near my mum, but he said he was glad he came. Reno and me had to persuade Tseng and Rude to come. Reno told them that if they didn't, he would do something unimaginable to them both, so they came. Reno then made Rude be his best man. The two of them had grow close during the last 6 months. I think it's good for the both of them. We didn't think Rufus would come, but he did. He became one of our best friends during the last 6 months. It's weird, it's not the slightest bit uncomfortable knowing that's he's the Vice President. He doesn't look like the kinda guy his father is. He's a lot like Reno, which scares me at times. I mean Reno can do enough damage on his own, never mind someone helping him. 

I had my white dress like I wanted. It was a bit flared at the bottom, but not by much. It had thin straps which had diamantes all the way along them. I loved it! The rings were a gold band, which had the engraving "These emotions that I got from the start are still with me, Reno and Adrienne." I still don't know how they managed to get all that on one little ring. I swear I saw Rude smile at least 5 times that day. I found out from Reno it was because the fact he was seeing someone and never told him till earlier that day. Sarah I think her name is. I hope it works out for them. 

Addy.

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Dear Diary, 

I'm pregnant!! I'm so happy. I've wanted a child for ages and now I'm going to be a mum. I may only be 20, but I don't think age matters to me no more. At least i'm married and I didn't do it the other way round. Elly was ecstatic when I told her. I'm about 6 months gone at the moment. I also know it's going to be a boy! I've already named him Callum Reno Komiya. I told Reno I wanted the baby to have his name as his middle name. He was chuffed about it. 

As from today I'm on maternity leave, so poor Reno has got to go to work on his own. I know 6 months is a bit early, but I can't exactly go on missions looking like this can I? The lads have got to cope without me for a whole year as fat ass won't let them have a temp. I'm sure they'll manage

Addy.

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Dear Diary, 

It's been 3 years since I last wrote. Callum is now 3. He's the most adorable red head I've ever seen, like his dad. I keep having to make Elly look after Callum, whenever a big mission comes up, which I feel guilt about. She'll end up getting fired because of me and Reno. It's a good job she has Reeve to bail her out. I've been back at work for just over 2 years, and it feels like I never left. They're gonna kill me when they find out that I'm pregnant again.....

Yes, I'm pregnant again! I'm only 6 weeks gone so far. I blame it all on Reno. He always said he wanted a big family. I just hope it's a girl this time. 

Oh well I'd better stop writing, I have a routine Reactor check to do that won't get done by just sitting here, no matter how much Reno says it will. He's sat at his desk playing 'throw Rude's coffee cup out the window because fat ass gave him overtime again'. I say he shouldn't draw pictures of Heidegger and throw darts at them, just as the fat ass himself walks into the room. Men never learn do they? So reactor 1 here I come.

Addy.

_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_


	6. Chapter 5 Rufus is a sore loser

**Scars of the Past**

_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_Wish I was in your arms - Lying right there beside you - But I know that I'll be in your dreams tonight - And I'll gently kiss your lips - Touch you with my fingertips - So turn out the light and close your eyes - I'm already there - Don't make a sound - I'm the beat in your heart - I'm the moonlight shining down - I'm the whisper in the wind - And I'll be there until the end - Can you feel the love that we share - Oh I'm already there_ _(Lonestar – I'm Already There)_  
  
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**Chapter 5 - Rufus is a Sore Loser**

In the hospital wing of the Shinra building, Reno laid in bed, thinking. He hated thinking. Thinking always led back to.... her. He never thought it was possible to miss someone so much. Everytime he closed his eyes, he could see her face, her eyes, her smile. God he wished with all his heart that he could see that smile again, that it was all a mistake and she wasn't dead. He sighed, he didn't want to admit it, but there was nothing he could do to change what happened. Maybe if he didn't stall her she would have come back before it blew up. Maybe if he wasn't too busy throwing Rude's coffee cup out the window, he could have gone instead. He would have been better off dead than she would. 

He opened his eyes and sat up. He figured the time to be about eight in the morning, but there wasn't a sound in the corridor outside. '_That's strange, What the hell happened last night?'_ He contemplated getting out of bed and having a glimpse around the door. After a couple of minutes debating with himself, he pulled back the bed sheet and put his bear feet on the cold tiled floor. He managed to drag himself to the door. He pushed it open and poked his head out into the corridor. It was completely deserted. Reno noticed that at the far end of the corridor, there were dark red stains on the carpet. Venturing to the blood soaked carpet, Reno could see that the stains carried on down the hall and up the nearest set of stairs. _'Holy shit........'_

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"Tseng, Wanna be President?" Rufus asked while sat on a desk, swinging his feet like a five year old would.

"I don't think so some how." The Turk said, as he looked up from some paperwork he was doing.

"Rude?"

"Nice try, but no." The bald Turk answered while grabbing himself yet another cup of coffee. Rufus turned his head to speak to Elena.

"Don't even think about it." The blonde retorted before he could ask her. The President sighed.

"Fine I'll just go and ask Scarlet, I know none of you would want that." Rufus pushed himself off the desk.

"Hey, she's not that bad when she's not hitting on people" Elena said.

"I know, but she is hitting on people 95% of the time" The blonde man said, with his back turned towards the door. 

"Who's hitting on people 95% of the time?"

Rufus spun around to face the voice. "Oh it's you Reno." The blonde looked him up and down. "Aren't you a little under dressed for work?" The red head looked down and realised he was still dressed in a hospital gown. He looked up at Rufus.

"Ok, so I forgot about that. Anyway, what the hell happened last night?"

"I'll tell you, if you promise to at least cover your butt cheeks up." Tseng spoke still staring at the paperwork. Reno twirled round, so his back was facing everyone in the room. 

"What's wrong with my butt cheeks?" A pair of trousers and a shirt hit Reno in the face. The red haired Turk glared at Rude. 

"For god sakes put them on, before I throw you out the window, or even worse, lock you in a room with Heidegger." The bald Turk said, adjusting his sunglasses. The blonde Turk started giggling. 

"Ok ok, I'm already changing." Reno said, as he walk into another room. Five minutes later, the red head walked back in, fully clothed, and sat down at his desk. "So what happened last night?" He put his feet on his desk and leaned back in the chair. Tseng took a deep breath.

"Avalanche came and went, taking the Ancient with them, but that's the least of the problems." The Turk leader click the top of his pen and rose from his seat to sit on the edge of the table. "Sephiroth is alive and he went on a massacre last night. All the guards that were posted to the Shinra building were killed. As well as the President." Tseng said, a little quieter.

"I think I might just go back to bed." Reno laid back on his chair a little more. "It can't get any worse than this."

"Oh yes it can." The blonde woman said while looking out the door. "Because Scarlet is walking down the hallway, not in the best of moods either." Reno's face went pale. 

"Shit!! Okay where can I hide?" The red head dived under his desk. Rufus started to chuckle. 

"At least she doesn't hit on you." The blonde President said before bursting into laughter. Scarlet appeared in the doorway, dressed in her normal red dress. 

"Where is he?" The blonde demanded. Rufus was still giggling at this point, which had also set Elena off. They both looked at each other and pointed to Reno's desk. Scarlet grinned. "Okay, as he's not here I'll just have to find him later." She walked over to his desk and with one swift push, the table toppled over to reveal Reno. He acted as though he was looking for something. He saw a pen on the floor and grabbed it. 

"There it is! I swear I've been looking for this for ages." He turned to look at the blonde. "Scarlet! Didn't see you there. How are you this fine morning?"

"You know, you should act sweet more often, suits you better. I don't even want you for anything, just thought it would be fun to shake you up a bit." Scarlet grinned even more. She swore she heard Reno mumble something along the lines of 'bitch', but wasn't sure. "Just wanted to wish the new President good luck that's all."

"Thanks.......... I think" Rufus muttered, back to swinging his legs, while sat on Tseng desk again. "Hey Scarlet do you mphhhh" The blonde was cut off by Tseng putting his hand over his mouth. 

"Ignore him, he's still grieving" The Turk said. Scarlet opened her mouth to say something but stopped. She turned to Reno instead. 

"I expect......"

"Yeah yeah I know. He'll be there in a couple of hours ok?" She smiled at the red head and walked out the room. 

"Thanks, I nearly said something I was gonna regret then." Hoping off the desk again, Rufus walked towards the door. "I'd better go and do some President type things". With that he left the room. Reno ran over to the door.

"Just don't over exert yourself by sitting down on your ass all day." The red head shouted to the retreating blonde. Rufus stopped and turned back round to face him. 

"I'm not like you Reno." He began to walk off again. 

"Ouch, now that hurt." Reno said. Rufus just held up his hand and waved to him. "So what do we do now?" He asked walking back into the room. 

"You, are going home. The rest of us are going after Sephiroth." Tseng said, as he got up.

"Are you nuts or what? You need more than us to stop that psychopathic freak!" Reno shouted.

"Try telling Heidegger that."

"I might just......" A hand touch Reno on the shoulder.

"Reno don't bother, just go home alright. We'll handle it." Rude told the other Turk. 

"Alright, but don't any of you go dying on me ok? I've got a kid to pick up to see his Grandmother." He chuckled a bit, then left the room. 

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Elena walked out of the Mythril Mines with a sigh. '_Damn it!! Had to open my big mouth didn't I?_' Rude strolled out after her. He patted her on the back.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. To be honest, you probably did us a favour." The bald Turk took off his sunglasses to give them a clean on his jacket. 

"A favour?" The blonde asked. Rude turned to look at her

"Think about it. Avalanche are looking for Sephiroth as well. If they get to him first and hopefully kill him, then it saves us a job." The bald Turk put the sunglasses back on, adjusting them a little. 

"Maybe you're right." Elena mumbled to herself more than to the other Turk. She laid down on the grass and looked up at the sky. "Heh, that cloud there looks like a bush." Rude let himself smile a bit.

"Don't all clouds look like bushes then? I could have sworn all clouds look like that one." Elena turned to look at him, then hit him in the leg. 

"You know what I mean." The blonde smiled. '_Maybe it won't be so bad being a Turk_'. 

Tseng strode out the mines. He gazed over to where Rude and Elena were. He had to admit Elena was making a better Turk than he thought she would. He felt bad about having to reprimand her in the mines, but he wanted to make Avalanche believe that she wasn't supposed shooting her mouth off. He was pretty glad she ended up telling them where the silver haired psychopathic freak was heading to. He sighed. This was the most suicidal mission Heidegger have ever sent them on. It was as he didn't give a shit about them anymore, which was probably true. He was hoping that when Rufus found out he would beat Heidegger to a pulp. Well, ok not to a pulp, but he would certainly start shouting at the fat ass. The old President wouldn't have given a damn, but he liked to think Rufus was actually a friend. He was always hanging around in the staff room when he had a minute. His thoughts then led onto Adrienne. It had only been a week since the reactor blew up. They all missed her, she was a good Turk. He expected Reno to acting worse than he was. Maybe it was just his way of grieving. He hoped so, he didn't want to lose another perfectly good Turk and a friend. He sighed yet again and walked over to the other two Turks.

"We have to get going if we want to get to Junon by sundown." Elena looked up at the Turk leader and smiled a little. "You did right talking about Sephiroth. I, personally, don't want to fight him. If we can get them to do it..........."

"Then we don't have to right?" The blonde cut in.

"Exactly. Come on lets get going. We've got to be at Junon before Rufus anyway."

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The blonde President was sat at the desk in the Presidential Office, playing a game called Frazzle. He touched the metal bit for the fifth time and it buzzed. Slamming the handle down on the desk, he muttered.

"Damn it."

"Heh, can't even play a kid's game without being a sore loser." The red head said, as he lounged in a chair, feet up on the desk. Rufus looked over at the Turk, then at the small child sat on the floor, playing with an Action Man. 

"I'm not a sore loser, Reno. And this isn't a kid's game. Hell I'd like to see your kid try." Reno laughed.

"You're on. Hey kid come here Uncle Rufus has a new game for you to play." Callum looked up. 

"Call me Uncle Rufus one more time and I'll happily lock you in a room with Heidegger." Reno ignored him. He gave the game to the red haired boy and patted him on the head. He bent down to whisper in his ear. 

"If you do this game, I'll buy you an ice cream on the way home, ok?" Callum nodded his head as hard as he could without it actually falling off and toddled over to where he was playing before. A few buzzes could be heard in the background. 

"Isn't that called mean trying to make a child play that game." A black haired man asked from the doorway. 

"I'm just showing Rufus that it's a kid's game since he can't do it to save his life." Reno told the Shinra Executive. 

"I can too. I'm just not very good when people are watching me."

"Any excuse Ruffie." Rufus scowled, while Reno and Reeve laughed at him.

"What do you want anyway Reeve?" The blonde asked, still sulking from losing the game. 

"I came to tell you that Cait Sith is finished." Rufus smirked. Reno waved his hand in front of the President who looked as though he had gone insane.

"Err hello, what the fuck is Cait Sith?"

"It's a robot. A robot that's going to help us spy on Avalanche." Rufus told the Turk. 

"Ooooo now that idea I like, but what does this thing look like?"

"Exactly as the name suggests." Came Reeve's comment from near the door. He opened it. A grey cat balanced on top of a huge white moogle walked into the room. "This is Cait Sith."

"It's a fucking cat on top of a really big moogle. And that's going to spy on Avalanche how?" Reno asked, coming to have a closer look.

"Hey, I resent that comment." The cat said as it jumped off the moogle. 

"Trust it to have it's own personality." The red head mumbled under his breath.

"Of course I have my own personality." Reno glared at the cat.

"I'm beginning to hate this thing already."

"And I love you too." Cait said as he started to walk towards where Callum was, who was still playing Frazzle. 

"I think it's cute." Rufus said from in his chair. "I have the perfect plan for getting it to spy on Avalanche too."

"Do tell your royal highness." Reno said collapsing back into his chair. 

"We send it to the Gold Saucer. Dio owes Shinra a favour anyway so he can't say no. When Avalanche go there, we get Cait Sith to try and join them. We can then keep tabs on them, wherever they go. Sound good?"

"I have one slight query about that. What if they find out? There's nothing to stop them tearing it apart when they do." The black haired man asked.

"Didn't one of the members of Avalanche have a kid? Maybe we could kidnap her and if they do find out, we can say we have her. There isn't a thing they can do about it. The only way would be to keep the dumb robot in the team." The Turk added to the conversation.

"I dunno......."

"Aw come on it's not like we are going to hurt the kid. We'll give her back right after this whole mess is done with."

"That's not a bad idea Reno. I knew you were a Turk for some reason." The blonde said. Reno took a mock bow. "And since it was your idea, you can go and get her." The red head groaned. 

"Come on, can't you send a SOLDIER to get her. I hate dealing with the Ancient's mother." He mumbled the last part. 

"You're telling me Reno of the Turks can't deal with a woman, an not too young woman at that?" Rufus chuckled.

"Stupid up, Mister I-can't-play-a-kid's-game." The blonde scowled at Reno's comment.

"It's not a kid's game!" Rufus shouted. The red head laughed and pointed towards Callum. The blonde looked over. Come to think of it he hadn't heard the buzzer for a while. As he looked over, he could see that the red haired boy was near the end of the puzzle. Callum carried on until the handle got to the end of the metal part and pulled it out. He looked at Rufus and grinned. Reeve started laughing.

"What was that about it not being a kid's game Ruffie?" Reno managed to get out before he burst out laughing as well. 

"Shut up, just shut up."

_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_


	7. Chapter 6 A History Lesson

**Scars of the Past**

_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_Y'know I didn't mean - What I just said - But my God woke up on the wrong side of His bed - And it just don't matter now - Little by little we gave you everything you ever dreamed of - As little by little the wheels of your life have slowly fallen off - Little by little you have to live it all in all your life - And all the time I just ask myself why are you really here? (Oasis – Little by Little)_  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
**Chapter 6 - A History Lesson**

Reno walked through Sector Five. He had always wondered how that god damn house ended up being in the slums. It looked like someone had just dug up a house from Kalm and planted right in the middle of the sector. Not to mention the flower garden that came with it. It was probably the only place in the slums, except that church, where flowers grew. He always wondered how the Ancient got anything to grow here. It wasn't exactly the best of environments to cultivate stuff. He reached the old oak door. _'Better make this as easy as possible._' He knocked and waited for the woman to open the door. He surprised by the fact that it wasn't the woman that opened it. _'This maybe easier than I thought._'

"Hello?" The little four year old girl asked from the small crack in the door. 

"Hi Marlene, want to see your Papa again?" The girl nodded her head slowly. The Turk held out his hand. "Well if you come with me, you'll see him real soon, ok?" The brown haired girl looked at the red head for a minute, then took his hand. Reno heard someone walk down the stairs inside. "Come on then." Just as Marlene was going to walk out the door, it opened wider to reveal a brown haired woman.

"Turk. What do you want Marlene for?" She asked.

"Just need her as a little bargaining chip that's all. I won't hurt her."

"I'll be damned if I let her go with you!" Reno sighed.

"Look, don't believe me if you don't want to, but where I plan to take her is probably a hell of a lot safer than down here. If it really bothers you, you're welcome to come with me." '_Rufus is gonna kill me._' Elmyra looked at the red haired Turk for a moment, then nodded. "Heh, at least you didn't hit me with a rolling pin this time." The woman smiled a little as she shut her door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"So looking forward to the little parade, Mr. President? Gya haa haa haa!" Rufus stared at the fat man in the green suit. '_Kill me, kill me now_'. The blonde president never answered. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the Junon sea air. Heidegger began to fidget. "I sent the Manufacturing Department in Administrative Research to find Sephiroth." Rufus spun around to look at Heidegger.

"What do you mean you sent the Turks to find Sephiroth?" He said dangerously calmly, taking a few more steps towards him. Heidegger fiddled with his tie. 

"I sent them to go and kill him." Rufus' face turned a shade of red, making the green suited Executive gulp.

"Are you mad?? There's no way three people can kill that freak! You'd need the whole of SOLDIER to even have a slight chance against him. What the hell were you thinking?" Rufus shouted. This made Heidegger even more fidgety.

"Sir, the Turks are dispensable......." He never finished the sentence before Rufus grabbed hold of his green jacket. 

"Ever say that in front of me again and I will personally make sure you don't see another day, understood?" The Shinra Executive nodded. The blonde let him go and shoved him a little. He turned round to look at the sea. 

"I don't see why you're so fond of them, they're all useless, especially that Turk that was killed, what's her name......." The President spun back round again, pulling out his shotgun. 

"Do you not listen to anything I say?" Rufus said with a dangerous gleam in his eye, waving the gun around "Just get out of my sight before I shoot you. Phone Tseng to tell him their mission is to keep an eye on Avalanche, nothing more. If I find out you never told him, I'll ram my shotgun up a very uncomfortable place, do you understand?" Heidegger went to open his mouth to say thing, but stopped. He nodded then walked a little away from the President, while taking out his PHS. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In the Shinra Building in Junon, Tseng put the PHS back in his pocket. He smiled. Heidegger had finally opened his big mouth to Rufus. He looked at the other two Turks, who were having a drinking game. Since Reno wasn't here to compete with Rude like normal, Elena was filling in. 

"Who was that?" Elena asked drinking her third Bacardi and Coke.

"Just Heidegger. Rufus finally found out about our 'mission' and told the fat ass to change it to spying on Avalanche." The Turk leader knocked back his drink. The blonde smiled.

"At least I don't have to fear my life anymore." She took another sip of her drink. "So how many can Rude actually take before passing out?" She said pointing to the other Turk. 

"I don't know, about twenty whiskeys." Tseng said, pouring himself a whiskey. Elena's eyes went wide.

"Twenty? Aw gesh, I can only take about seven of these." She lifted her glass up. "And this is already my third." Tseng patted her on the back.

"It's ok. No one I've ever known can out drink Rude. I think Reno can only take about ten, but it never stops him from trying." The blonde Turk giggled. 

"You can take more than Rufus can, Elena. I think he can only manage three before he goes all giggly and falls asleep." The bald Turk said. Elena giggled some more. "Okay maybe I should take that comment back." Elena went to slap him with her hand, but it only ended up being a tap on his shoulder. 

Rufus stormed into the room, muttering to himself. All the Turks looked up at him.

"Have a nice trip here then sir?" Tseng asked him. Rufus stopped and looked at the Turk leader. 

"I had to sit with fat bastard, how do you think it went? I swear if he laughs one more time, I'll shoot him." The Wutian chuckled.

"Please do, don't think anyone would miss him a great deal."

"If I ever told Reno what he said to me, he wouldn't be alive for too much longer." Tseng gave the President a questioning look. "He basically said you were all useless, especially Addy, which I don't think would go down too well with our resident red head."

"Sir, we know he thinks we're dispensable, but frankly we don't care." Tseng took a drink of his whiskey. Rude nodded in agreement. 

"He's not fit to be the head of SOLDIER, let alone you guys. He can go and fuck Hojo for all I care." Rufus paused for a minute. "Speaking of Hojo, did you know he's resigned?" The blonde man sat down, as the Turk leader poured him a drink. 

"No surprise there. Trust him to unleash his spawn then run off." Rufus looked at Tseng puzzled. "Oh you didn't know did you? Doubt many people know this. The lovely Sephiroth is Hojo's son."

"No shit...."The President muttered. 

"When the whole Nibelheim thing happened, I got sent to the mansion and that's what I happened to find out. As well as what happened there, nearly 30 years ago."

"Do tell, I'm all in for a good story." Rufus leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

"Alright. About 30 years ago, Professor Gast discovered a creature called Jenova." 

"That gooey thing that Sephiroth took while he was in the Shinra Building?" The blonde man cut in. 

"What?" The black haired Wutian asked.

"You didn't know? When Sephiroth was there the other night he took Jenova. I told Heidegger to......." Rufus stopped talking. Tseng's face looked bitter for a second. 

"And that's why we didn't know. Anyway Gast's assistant was Hojo."

"Gesh How old is Hojo?" Elena asked.

"He's old, I lost count years ago. Shinra didn't want anyone to discover this Jenova thing, so they set up in lab in the basement of the old Shinra mansion in Nibelheim. So Gast, Hojo, a new lab assistant called Lucrecia and a Turk named Vincent Valentine, were sent to Nibelheim."

"Wasn't Vincent the man who........." Rude asked.

"Disappeared? Yeah. No one ever knew why though." The Turk leader took another sip of his drink "So after a while the experiment got under way. A couple of months after, Gast got called away to work on something else. That left Hojo to play about with whatever he wanted, which of course he did. He decided he wanted to see if Jenova cells could make people stronger than Mako ever could. The only way he could do this without a person rejecting the cells, was to plant them in an unborn child." Tseng swirled his drink around in the glass.

"Crazy old coot." The President mumbled.

"Since Lucrecia was a over enthusiastic lady, Hojo convinced her to have his child so he could inject it with Jenova cells. Lucrecia agreed, and nine months later Sephiroth was born. Somewhere along the way, Vincent ended up falling in love with Lucrecia. She died while giving birth to her baby. When Vincent found out, he went to confront Hojo, but Hojo just shot him and ended up making him an experiment. Hojo just reported that the Turk had been killed by a monster in Mount Nibel, not that many people believed that."

"What happened five years ago then? I know Shinra made a whole cock and bull story about what happened, but no one ever told me what really happened." Rufus asked pouring himself another drink.

"Trust me this part of the story explains a lot. People in Nibelheim were complaining about monsters coming into the town, which they thought were coming from the reactor. Sephiroth was sent to have a look, taking a first class SOLDIER named Zack Raven, and two guards, one of them I happen to know was Cloud Strife." The blonde haired man raised an eye brow as Tseng continued. "Travelling up Mount Nibel with a guide, who's name I believe was Tifa Lockheart, they reached the reactor." He put the glass down. "Hojo always told Sephiroth that his mother was Jenova, so when they got to the reactor and saw the name Jenova written over a door, Sephiroth kind of wanted to know what was going on." 

"Sick bastard...." The blonde woman muttered. Tseng continued.

"He ended up locking himself in the Shinra mansion trying to find out about himself for days on end. While doing this he totally lost his insanity. He came out and burnt Nibelheim to the ground. He then marched up to the reactor again, bent on seeing Jenova. When SOLDIER's came to the village to clean up a day later, Sephiroth's body was found floating in the Mako of the reactor. Hojo decided it would pleasurable to take Raven and Strife, who were still barely alive in the reactor, and experiment on them. Later on that day, they went back to retrieve Sephiroth's body and it was gone."

"And now I know why it was covered up." Rufus finished off the rest of his drink and slammed the glass on the table. "Does Heidegger really not tell you anything?"

"Only when he needs to." The Wutian said.

"To hell with the fat bastard, I'll tell you what to do from now on. From this moment in time, Heidegger is no longer your boss. How does that feel?" The President smirked as he stood up. Tseng looked at him.

"You'd make a better boss than fat ass any day." Elena added. Rufus took a packet of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Now for your first mission from me. Go back to Midgar and take bloody Scarlet to that reactor in Gongaga before she moans at me anymore." 

"Does that really need three of us?" Rude asked.

"Nope it needs four, since Reno is going with you as well. She's looking for something called Huge materia, so she can power the sister ray again. Don't ask me why she wants to, but it might be a good idea while Sephiroth is roaming around." Rufus lit up a cigarette as he walked towards the door. "Excuse me, but I have a ship to catch and a fat ass to annoy." As the door shut, Tseng shook his head _ 'That man will never change'_.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Callum was sat on the floor in Reeve's office, playing with an Action Man. Cait Sith was sat, staring at the little red haired, wondering how he could be amused by a piece a plastic with clothes on for so long. Reeve was sat behind his desk, mumbling numbers to himself. The cat jumped up onto the desk.

"Did you know that mumbling to yourself is the first sign of madness?" The Shinra Executive looked up slowly, glaring at the cat. "Gesh, someone has a pole up their ass today." Cait jumped back off the desk and walked over to Callum. "So what are you playing?"

The boy didn't have time to answer before the doors to the room burst open and Reno stormed in. Reeve smirked.

"Have a nice time?" Reno glared at the dark haired man. If looks could kill, Reeve would be dead ten times over. The red head stared pacing the room.

"The kid is a brat. She won't shut up. Elmyra encouraged the kid to keep talking. It was as if she wanted to torture me." Reno said as he sat down in an empty chair. 

"So where is the kid?" The Shinra Executive decided to ask. 

"Outside the door. Cait do me a favour go and fetch them for me." The cat ran out the door. 

"Them?" Reeve asked, questioningly. 

"Daddy!" Callum dropped his toy on the floor and ran over to the red haired man. 

"Hey Kiddo." The Turk ruffled the child's hair. "I had to bring Elmyra with me." Reeve started to chuckle. "What? I wasn't going to risk getting hit with her rolling pin again. It damn well hurt the first time." 

"Daddy, Who's that?" Callum said, pointed towards that little girl that was now stood in the doorway with Elmyra. Reno's PHS then chose that moment to ring. The red head put the little boy down to answer it. Callum walked over to the girl. "My name is Callum. What's yours?" The brown haired girl blinked, then smiled.

"Marlene."

"That's a pwetty name. Wanna play action man with me?" 

"Okay." Marlene said, shyly. She followed Callum to where he was playing before. Reno closed his PHS. 

"Reeve, you know how you love me......." He said walking back over to the desk.

"No Reno." The black haired man said, wiping a hand over his face.

"Please?" Reno asked pathetically, trying to make puppy dog eyes.

"Okay, get lost then. Just please don't ever do puppy dog eyes again, they don't suit you."

"Thanks man, I......." Reno trailed off as Callum shouted.

"Grandma!" A red blur shot past Reno. He put both hands on the desk and leaned on it.

"Oh dear god, please tell me it's my mother come back from the dead, Reeve." Reeve looked over the Turk's shoulder. 

"Nope, but if it's what you want to hear, then yes Reno, there's a ghost stood in the doorway of my office." He said grinning.

"Damn you and your sense of humour." Reno spun round and smirked. "Ready then, Grandma?" Scarlet stared at the Turk for a minute. 

"Why did you have to be going to the reactor?" The blonde woman scowled, as she walked off down the hall. Reno followed, while shouting.

"I love you too." Reeve shook his head.

_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_


	8. Chapter 7 Reno's Sing Song

**Scars of the Past**

_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_I refuse to give up - I refuse to give in - You're my everything - I don't wanna give up - I don't wanna give in - So everybody sing - One love for the mother's pride - One love for the times we've cried - One love got it staying alive - I will survive - One love for the city streets - One love for the hip hop beats - One love oh I do believe - One love is all we need (Blue - One Love)_  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
**Chapter 7 - Reno's Sing Song**

"The blade on the copter goes round and round, round and round, round and round. The blade on the copter goes round and round, all day long." Reno was singing, in a voice that suggested he was tone deaf. Elena knew the whole reason for the singing, so everytime the red head broke into a new verse, she would start to giggle. "The other blade on the copter goes round and round, round and round, round and round. The other blade on the copter goes round and round, all day long." Tseng was shaking his head, Rude was piloting the helicopter so wasn't taking much notice. Scarlet on the other hand looked like she was going to blow any second. The red haired Turk broke into yet another verse. "The wipers on the copter go swish, swish, swish........" Scarlet jumped out of her seat.

"Reno! If you don't shut up, I'll ram my shoes down your throat." The blonde shouted, her face going red. Reno just stared at her for a minute.

"Gesh, you hate me don't you?" He said trying his best to look hurt, while trying not to smirk. 

"Let me think about that......."She paused for a moment. "YES!"

"Aw, now I'm hurt." The red head took the sunglasses off from on his head and cleaned them a little.

"I'm surprised she's put up with you for five years." The Turk leader interrupted from where he was sat. 

"Hell, she needs a medal, wait, we all need medals." The blonde Turk added, still giggling.

"Hardy ha ha." Reno put the sunglasses on properly and adjusted them. He also fiddled with the ear piece Reeve had given him, so he could listen to the conversations Avalanche were having with Cait Sith. The Turk smirked, and started singing again. "Do your balls hang low, do they wobble to and throw........." Scarlet's shoe then hit him in the face. The Shinra Executive grinned, Elena started laughing and Tseng smiled a little. 

"That was the best thing I've done all day. Maybe I should throw the other......" Scarlet said, taking off her other shoe.

"NO!" Reno interrupted. The blonde Turk laughed even harder. 

"You going to be a good boy now?" The blonde woman asked sweetly.

"Yes Grandma." Scarlet's second shoe then hit Reno in the face. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A few hours later, Reno sat in the doorway of the landed helicopter, dangling his legs over the side. He had one hand pressed up against his right ear, where the ear piece was. Elena walked over to him. 

"Reno we're......" 

"Shhhh" The red head cut her off. Elena came and sat next to him.

_ "Want your fortune told, Aeris?"_

_ "Not right now Cait."_

_ "Tifa? Want yours doing."_

_ "Maybe later."_

_ "Barret?"_

_ "Shut yer hole, stupid robot."_

_ "I'm not stupid thank you very much."_

_ "He does have a point though Barret."_

_ "Don't you stick up for the thing Spike."_

_ "Cloud, where are we going?"_

_ "I think there's a village somewhere south of the Gold Saucer, might as well see what's there."_

_ "Cloud, can we stop for a few minutes? It's really cramped in this buggy"_

_ "Sure thing Tifa."_

After a few minutes, Reno could here Cait's squeaky voice again.

_"Reno, you there?" _

"Yeah I'm here."

_"Good, because Avalanche are coming your way. They have no idea what the village is but the only thing south of the Gold Saucer is Gongaga."_

"Ok Cait, I hear ya." Reno turned to the blonde. "Is Tseng still about?"

"He's just about to go to the reactor in the other copter, why?"

"Avalanche are coming our way." He stood up and began jogging to the other helicopter. "You go to the entrance of the town and see if you can notice them ok?"

"Yeah sure." The blonde walked off into the forest. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rufus jumped out the buggy and took a deep breath. _'I will not kill Heidegger and Palmer, I will not kill Heidegger and Palmer.' _

"Gya haa haa haa... You're not going to start the Space Program again, Palmer." 

"I...I am too, just watch...... Mr President..." Rufus spun around. 

"Shut up! Just shut up!" The blonde snapped. He took another deep breath. "Palmer, go and talk to Mr Highwind for me, Heidegger stay here, I want a word with you." The brown suited Shinra Executive skipped into town. Rufus stared and shook his head. _'Maybe I should sack everyone and start fresh..........'_

"You wanted to talk to me Sir?" The man in the green suit asked. 

"Oh yes. The Turks no longer report to you, they report to me." Rufus said, brushing down the fabric of his coat.

"But Sir...." Heidegger tried to interrupt.

"No buts. You've proved you can't be trusted with them, so they are no longer under your command. Do I make myself clear?" 

"Yes Sir." The Shinra Executive muttered. Rufus turned away from him and smirked. 

"I'm going to visit Mr Highwind now. Stay in the buggy." As the President walked into Rocket Town, he could here someone shouting from a house nearby.

"Fuck, Good for nothing, fat bastard!" A blonde man then emerged from the house and strolled over to Rufus. "So you're the new President huh?"

"I believe so." The blonde president flicked his hair back.

"So? When's the Space Program gonna start up again?"

"It's not."

"What the.....! You got me all excited for nothing!? Then, what'd you come here for?" Cid shouted, nearly having a temper tantrum. 

"I want to borrow the Tiny Bronco. We're going after Sephiroth. But it seems like we're been going in the wrong direction. But now, we think we know where he's headed. But, we have to cross the ocean. That's why we want your plane..." Rufus smirked. 

"Shit! First the Airship, then the Rocket, and now, the Tiny Bronco. Shinra took outer space away from me and now you want to take the sky away from me too!?" The blonde started stamping his foot on the floor. This just made Rufus smirk more. 

"Oh my..." He yet again flicked his hair back. "You seem to forget it was because of Shinra, Inc. that you were able to fly in the first place."

"What!?" The blonde pilot leaned against the fence outside his house. Rufus stared at him for a while. 

"So are you going to give me the plane or not?" The President was beginning to get inpatient. 

"Over my dead body!" Cid's face had now started to go red.

"I can arrange that if you want. Guards........." He trailed off when he could here the sound of a plane starting up, just the other side of Cid's house. _'I swear if that dumb fuck Palmer messes this up, I'll kill him_' Cid spun around to see what was going on. The Tiny Bronco took over and flew high up into the air, before coming back down towards where the two blondes were stood. Cid made a run for the plane. Rufus saw this. "Guards! Shoot the plane!" The Guards began shooting and managed to hit the tail of the plane. The President watched it fall into the water before turning to a Guard that was running up to him.

"Sir?"

"Go on." Rufus said flicking a strand of hair out of his face.

"Palmer is believed to be dead Sir." The President tried not to smile. '_Woohoo! Victory for me!'_ He just nodded.

"Make sure the body gets moved. I have to be back at Junon."

"Sir!" The Guards ran off. As soon as they had Rufus turned away from the house. He smirked and looked up to the sky. _'There is a god. Thank you soooo much.'_ He then walked back to the buggy. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was night time in Midgar. The red haired Turk was sat on the roof of the Shinra building, starting at a book in his hand. Scrawled on the cover was the words, 'Addy's Diary'. He flicked through the pages with his thumb, then put the book down next to him. He didn't want to read it. He had only come across it when he was sorting out some things to take to Wutai with him. Tseng had told the three Turks that they might as well have a couple of days off, while he sorted something out. Reno had managed to make Reeve agree to take care of Callum again, after bribing him. He stared at the book again. He felt compelled to read it, and he didn't know why. He noticed a blonde haired Turk that come and sat the other side of the diary. 

"I knew you'd be up here. You've been quiet ever since you came back from your apartment." Reno looked up at her. 

"I found this." He lifted up the book to show to Elena. "I want to read it, but I don't. She never let me read it......." He paused for a moment. "But I have a feeling there's something I should know that's in this." The blonde thought for a minute.

"Read it then. I'm sure whatever is in there she would have told you eventually anyway." Reno turned to look at the city. 

"I miss her." He whispered in an almost inaudible voice. Elena scooted a bit closer to him and put her arm around his shoulders. 

"Of course you do Reno, we all do." A single tear fell down the side of the red head's face.

"Even being a Turk, I always thought I would go before she did. I was always the one who goofed around, not her." Another tear followed the last.

"No one knew that was going to happen." Elena stopped for a moment and rubbed her right eye. "Reno, you're gonna have to stop crying or I'll start too." The red haired man let out a small laugh. 

"You always did make me laugh, you know that El." Reno smiled at little at her.

"Of course I make you laugh." She squeezed him a little tighter. The red haired Turk looked at the diary again.

"I'll read it when we get to Wutai......" He trailed off. 

"Well come on then, lets get going. I do actually want to spend some time there, you know." She stood up.

"Elena?" Reno whispered just before she started walking. 

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." He stood up. The blonde smiled.

"You're welcome. Now come on." She grabbed hold of his hand and dragged him over to the helicopter.

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	9. Chapter 8 The Temple of the Ancients

**Scars of the Past**

_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_From the moment I met you I just knew you'd be mine - You touched my hand - And I knew that this was gonna be our time - I don't ever wanna lose this feeling - I don't wanna spend a moment apart - 'Cos you bring out the best in me - Like no-one else can do - That's why I'm by your side - And that's why I love you (Blue - Best In Me)_  
  
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**Chapter 8 - The Temple of the Ancients**

Reno was on Dachao Mountains, sat on the stone hand where Corneo gracefully fell to his death earlier that day. He smiled a little. How he enjoyed killing the pervert. He needed another excuse to eradicate the fat man, kidnapping Elena had been the last straw. Not that Shinra didn't want him for letting the secret about Sector Seven leak out. It was beyond him why they even told the fat bastard about it anyway. He opened his jacket and pulled out of an inside pocket the diary. He had been trying to build up courage, the whole three days they had been in Wutai, to read it. He raked a hand through his un kept red hair, staring at the little pink book. He took a deep breath and flicked to the last page that had been written on. He began to read it. 

_'Dear Diary, _

_It's been 3 years since I last wrote. Callum is now 3. He's the most adorable red head I've ever seen, like his dad. I keep having to make Elly look after Callum, whenever a big mission comes up, which I feel guilt about. She'll end up getting fired because of me and Reno. It's a good job she has Reeve to bail her out. I've been back at work for just over 2 years, and it feels like I never left. They're gonna kill me when they find out that I'm pregnant again....._

_Yes, I'm pregnant again! I'm only 6 weeks gone so far. I blame it all on Reno. He always said he wanted a big family. I just hope it's a girl this time. _

_Oh well I'd better stop writing, I have a routine Reactor check to do that won't get done by just sitting here, no matter how much Reno says it will. He's sat at his desk playing 'throw Rude's coffee cup out the window because fat ass gave him overtime again'. I say he shouldn't draw pictures of Heidegger and throw darts at them, just as the fat ass himself walks into the room. Men never learn do they? So reactor 1 here I come._

_Addy.'_

Pregnant? He sighed shakily. She never told him that. He wondered what she'd been so happy about that day. Not even doing a regular, boring reactor check damped her mood. He would always remember the last time he ever saw her. He never said 'I love you.' He never got to tell her how much he cared about her. Reno hear a noise behind him. '_Elena.'_

Elena looked at the red head. She hated it when he looked depressed, it just didn't suit his character. Someone like him wasn't meant to have shit like this happen to them. She moved to sit next to him. Reno looked at her, silent tears running down his face.

"Did you know she was pregnant again?" He managed to croak out. Elena looked at him in shock. He looked back over Wutai. 

"Reno............... I dunno what to say."

"Makes two of us then." The two sat in silence for what seemed like eternity. The blonde Turk decided to have a go at cheering Reno up.

"You remember when you first starting going out with Addy and you went to meet her mother?" 

"Aw gesh, I don't wanna remember that." 

"She told me you walked into the house, saw Scarlet and said something like, 'Whoa, are you a whore or something?' Then she whacked you one, while Addy was stood there laughing." Elena smiled a little.

"I always wondered why Scarlet hated me so much but agreed to let me marry Addy. I mean you've seen how much she despises me" They sat in silence again for a while. Reno pulled one knee up to his chest and leant his arms on it. "I really wanna thank you Elly." The blonde gave his a puzzling look.

"Why?"

"Just for being my friend for the last six years. For helping me out and everything."

"There's no need to thank me, I like being your friend, it's not like you force me to, you know."

"I know, I just wanted to thank you in case anything happens during this whole thing."

"Nothing is going to happen Reno............."

"You know the last time somebody said that, I got into a nice little fight with our neighbourhood terrorists." Reno cut in.

"That won't happen every time someone says that."

"Ah, but that's just my bad luck all over."

"Promise me something will you?"

"What's that?" 

"Don't read the entry when she first meets you."

"Why's that?"

"Just don't read it...... I'll see you later ok, I'll go and pull Rude from the bar." With that she walked back into Wutai. Reno sat there for a while looking at the book. He smiled a little and opened it up again. He found the entry Elena was talking about._ 'Elly just said he was a jerk for hitting on us.' _He laughed a little, shut the book and roamed down the mountain to have a drink with his two best friends.

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"Reeve, does the cat have the keystone yet?" Tseng asked while sat in the helicopter.

_"Not yet, but it won't be too long. Cloud has just walked out his room so there's no one in there any more. I'm betting the keystone is in there somewhere." _The voice from the Turk leader's PHS said.

"Hop to it then."

_"That's a bad joke, you do know that Tseng."_

"Yeah I'm the king of bad jokes. The worse they are, the more likely they are to make people laugh." Tseng heard a chuckle.

_"Ok I've got the keystone. Cloud should really hide his stuff better."_

"Well, meet me outside the Chocobo races. That's about the only place in the Gold Saucer I can get close enough in this copter."

_"Will do."_ Tseng sat back in the chair. This was going so much easier than he had first thought. 

_"Shit"_ Or so he had thought.

"What's wrong Reeve?"

_"Cloud has kind of spotted me."_

"Well run then, try and lose him. I'll be there any minute ok."

_"Just hurry will you."_

The helicopter dove down the Chocobo Square, where Tseng saw out the window, the little grey cat on his white moogle, followed by the blonde haired man and the Ancient. 

"Here the Keystone!" Cait Sith shouted before throwing it up to Tseng. 

"Well done." The helicopter then flew away again. His PHS was still turned on so he listened to the conversation Cait was having.

_"Hey!"_

_"W, wait a second. I won't run or hide. Yes, I was a spy. I was hired by the Shinra."   
"...I trusted you. I can't believe you!"   
"I couldn't help it. How 'bout if we continue like nothing ever happened?"   
"No way, cat! You gotta lot of guts acting like a friend but being a spy!"   
"Then what are you goin' to do? Kill me? You'd just be wastin' your time if you tried. This body's just a toy anyway. My real body's at Shinra Headquarters in Midgar. I'm controllin' this toy cat from there."   
"So you're from the Shinra. Who? Who are you! Tell me!"   
"Whoa, I can't tell you my name."   
"We're not gettin' anywhere."   
"See? I told you! Talking won't do any good, so can't we just continue our journey?"   
"You think I'm jokin'!?"   
"...Alright, yes, I am a Shinra employee. But we're not entirely enemies. ...Something bothers me. I think it's your way of life. You don't get paid. You don't get praised. Yet, you still risk your lives and continue on your journey. Seeing that makes me... It just makes me think about my life. I don't think I'd feel too good if things ended the way they are now."   
".......And so on, and so on..."   
"He'll never tell the truth. Once a spy, always a spy. We can't go on with someone like that. C'mon, get real!!"   
"...just as I thought. Talking won't make a bit of difference. But I prepared something in case this happened. Why don't you listen to this?" _

_"Papa! Tifa!"   
"Hey! That's Marlene!" _

_"Hey! It's the flower lady! Flower lady..." _

_"...So, you have to do as I say."   
"...you're the lowest..."   
"I didn't want to do this... using dirty tricks and taking hostages... But this is how it is... no compromises. So why don't we continue on as we did?" _

Tseng shook his head. Reeve was just a too nice a guy for his own good sometimes. _'Oh well better get this over with.'_ The copter flew on to the Temple of the Ancients.

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The helicopter landed in a clearing right next to the old temple. Tseng and a blonde woman jumped out the door The Turk leader turned and began walking over the rickety rope bridge. He could have sworn he heard something in the woods behind him, but he was pushed for time so didn't bother to look. Probably just the odd monster lurking about. 

"Are you sure this place is save?" The blonde asked.

"As safe as any other place in the world right now Elena." He turned to look at her. "Look, I'm sorry for calling all of you away from your vacation a bit early."

"It's ok. Wutai was getting boring anyway."

"You went there?" Tseng asked, pulling the keystone out of his pocket and placing it on the alter.

"Yeah, not much to do though." The black haired man chuckled.

"There never was. That's why I moved when I was old enough to." The keystone glowed and a secret lift opened up.

"Whoa, now that's neat." Elena spun around to look at the door. "I could have sworn I just heard something outside." Tseng looked as well.

"You're not the only one.... Come on lets get this over with." They entered the lift. When it came to a stop they found themselves a a maze like room. "Ah.... this just gets better." Every note of that sentence held sarcasm in it. 

An hour later, filled with mostly silence, Elena speaking once in a while, they reached a room with writing all over the walls. She kept looking behind her. She had a really bad feeling that something or someone was following them. She looked to another alter type thing with a pyramid hologram hovering over it. Tseng was looking around. The blonde turned and ran up to him.

"Tseng, what's this? Can we find the Promised Land with this?" Tseng turned to look at her.

"...I wonder. Anyway, we have to report to the President." The blonde nodded and began to walk towards the door.

"Be careful Tseng" 

"Yeah." He thought about something for a minute then spoke again. "Hey Elena, how 'bout dinner after this job's over?" The blonde Turk looked at him. She was a little bit shocked that he asked, even though she always wanted him to. 

"Th... Thank you very much. If I may be excused..." She ran out the room. Tseng began looking at the walls again. 

"Is this the Promised Land? No, it can't be..." The Turk heard another noise. He turned around to find a silver haired man kneeled on the floor, his sword held straight up in the air. "Sephiroth!!" The man stood up and looked at Tseng.

"So you opened the door. Well done." The Turk took a few steps towards the other man, thought again and stopped.

"This place...... What is it?"

"A lost treasure house of knowledge. The wisdom of the Ancients..." Sephiroth turned towards one of the walls, lifting his arms into the air. "I'm becoming one with the Planet." The Turk looked at him puzzled. 

"One with the Planet?" Sephiroth let his arms fall back down to his sides. He turned his back to the black haired man.

"You stupid fools. You have never even thought about it. All the spirit energy of this Planet. All its wisdom... knowledge... I will meld with it all. I will become one with it... It will become one with me." Tseng looked even more puzzled than before.

".....You can do that?"

"The way........ lies here." The man began to laugh. "Only death awaits you all. But do not fear." Before Tseng could even move out of the way, Sephiroth rose his sword and slash the black haired man across his stomach. Tseng fell to the ground. Just before he thought he was going to lose consciousness, he heard Sephiroth mutter something.

"For it is through death that a new spirit energy is born. Soon, you will live again as a part of me." The man then flew off. The Turk managed to pull himself up, and staggered all the way to where the lift to the temple was. He took the keystone out when the lift stopped and slumped again the alter. _'This sucks'_ He was only there a few minutes before he saw three members of Avalanche stood in front of him. He missed the first bit of their conversation, he was in too much pain to think straight. He tried to stand up.

"Uh... I've been had." The Turk fell back down. "It's not the Promise Land.... Sephiroth's searching for..."

"Sephiroth? He's inside!?" He heard the blonde say. Tseng pointed towards the alter.

"Look... for yourself..." His hand fell again. "Damn... Letting Aeris go was the start... of my... bad luck... The President... was wrong..." He shut his eyes again. He didn't listen to what the Ancient said. He opened his eyes and listened to the last thing she whispered.

"Either way, there was no way Shinra could have won." Tseng nearly smiled despite the pain.

"...pretty harsh. Sounds like something... you'd say." He tried to get up again, succeeding this time. He walked over to Cloud and gave him the Keystone. "The Keystone... place it... on... the altar..." He dragged himself to a wall nearby and slumped against it. _'Sorry Elena, doesn't look like I can take you on that dinner I promised'_ He then let his eyes shut for the last time. 

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The Turks were back at HQ, sat in Reeve Office. The black haired man was still looking over Cait. While looking at the screen, he saw Tseng slumped against the wall. _'Shit'_ He made the cat walk over to the man and look at him. _'This is not good....'_

"Reno.... you'd better come here a minute." Reno looked up and walked to where Reeve was sat. He looked at the screen.

"Holy shit..... is he...." He muttered softly. The Shinra Executive nodded. Reno took a coffee cup that was lying on Reeve's desk and threw it against the wall. "This is just fucked up!" He shouted. The other two Turks looked at him. The red head raked a hand through his hair then wiped his face. 

"What's wrong?" Elena asked in a timid voice. Reno let out a shaky sigh. 

"Tseng he's.................... dead." He leaned against the wall and slid down it. Elena held a hand against her mouth and let out a single sob. Reno looked at her and stood up again. "Come here." Elena looked at him and rose out of her chair, shakily walked over to him. He put her arms round her and she sobbed into his shirt. 

"He...... was.... going to....... take........ me........ to dinner." She managed to to get out into between sobs.

"You loved him didn't you?" Elena looked up at the red head.

"Kinda...... sorta." Reno hugged her a bit tighter. She put her head back on his chest, trying to make herself stop crying. She couldn't. She never got to tell Tseng how she felt and now he'd never know. It hurt like nothing else had hurt before. 

"It'll be ok El, I promise it'll get better." She heard Reno whisper in her eye. She nodded. _'I know it will, because I have friends like you to help me'_

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	10. Chapter 9 The Highwind

**Scars of the Past**

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_I've been thinking about you, my love - And all the crazy things that you put me through - Now I'm coming around, Throwing it back to you - Were you thinking of me when you kissed him - Could you taste me when you licked his skin - All the while I showered you with trust and promises_ _- What I'm needing now is some sweet revenge - To get back all that I lost then - I gave you all I had to give, but I could never reach you - Adrienne, I thought I knew you - Once again, you used me, used me - Adrienne, I should have left you - Long before you used me, Used me up_ _ (The Calling - Adrienne)_  
  
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**Chapter 9 - The Highwind**

Elena was stood near the entrance to Icicle Inn. She folded her arms. _'Why me? I hate the cold. Why couldn't they have sent Reno or even Rude? God damn it.'_ Rufus had told her to go and check up on Avalanche, see where they were going. Not only that, they had sent two guards with her. _'Stupid idiots, they don't know left from right.'_ She turned to them. 

"Come on, lets get this over with." She walked into town, arms still crossed. She could hear the guards mumbling about the cold behind her. She smiled a little. At least she wasn't the only one that was freezing. The blonde woman stopped at the entrance, as she saw Cloud, Tifa and Barret stood at the far end talking to a man. She grinned and opened her mouth to shout. 

"There they are, hurry!" The two guards ran up to stand with her. 

"Yes Ma'am!" All three of them ran to the members of Avalanche. 

"Cloud...." She stopped talking to take a deep breath, then continued. "I won't let you go any further!" The blonde man just shrugged at her. 

"What's down there." He pointed down the icy slope. 

"It's a SE-CR-ET." She pointed out, stressing the word secret. "It really doesn't matter! But you really got guts doin' my boss in like that!" Cloud looked at her puzzled. 

"You mean Boss... Tseng? That wasn't us. Sephiroth did it." Elena glared at Cloud for a minute. 

"No! Don't think you can fool me, liar!" She shouted, getting the urge to stamp her foot. 

"I'm not lying... it was Sephiroth." She stared again. She never really thought about it that much to be honest. Avalanche was there, she just wanted to blame someone. 

"Don't try to act innocent. I'll never forget it!!" She watched Cloud scratch his head. 

"Oh man...." Needing to stamp her foot again, she settled for tapping it on the snow covered ground. 

"Looks like talking alone won't cut it. You're going to have to feel some pain!" Elena saw out the corner of her eye, one of the guards stepping forward. 

"Just you... and me!!" He said. Cloud looked as though he was going to laugh The blonde Turk wasn't going to have some dim-witted guard fight for her. 

"No, I can handle him! There's no way he can avoid my punch." The guard looked at her. 

"What? Yeah..." The guard stepped back again. Elena took a deep breath, then drew her arm back, flung it forward, and hit Cloud right in the jaw. Not expecting the punch to be that powerful, the blonde fell back a couple of steps. Not remembering how far away from the edge of the slope he was, he miss-placed his foot and tumbled down the mountain a few feet. Elena resisted the urge to laugh, but then she saw Cloud look up, his hair covered in snow. She burst out laughing. The guards looked at her as though she had cracked up. _'That one was for you Tseng.'_ She smiled and walked away. 

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The two male Turks were sat in a room on the Highwind, playing a game of cards. 

"Got any five's?" The red head asked, cigarette dangling from his lips. 

"Go fish. Got any seven's" Rude asked in return. 

"Yeah, here." Reno passed his two seven's over to the bald Turk. 

"I'm done." 

"Damn it Rude! I can't even beat you at a kid's game." The bald Turk chuckled a bit. Rufus walked into the room silently and let himself fall on to the sofa, next to Reno. 

"Have to get away from the two laughing idiots." He mumbled. "It's bad enough Hojo came back." The red head smirked. He patted the blonde President on the back. 

"Now you know what we have to put up with every day." Rufus took out a cigarette and lit it up. 

"You know, I might shove my gun up fat bastard's ass anyway. I would enjoy the look on his face." Reno chuckled. "Anyway I came in here to ask if one of you will watch Hojo for me? I don't care which one of you it is, fight amongst yourselves." 

"I'll do it." Rude said, getting up from his chair. "If Reno loses at cards one more time, he'll cry." The red head sulked. 

"I will not............. Ruffie, fancy a game of cards?" 

"Not on your life, Reno" The blonde rose from his seat and left the room, Rude following behind him. 

"I'll just have to play on my own then." Reno took the cards and began to deal them. 

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Rufus walked into the cockpit of the Highwind, stopping in front of the big front window. Scarlet came up to the side of him. 

"So, I finally found you." The blonde man whispered to himself. Scarlet looked at him and started laughing. 

"Kyaa haa haa." She turned to looked at Heidegger, who was stood a little behind her. "Kyaa haa hah. haa hah haa.............hah This is incredible......" Heidegger joined in the laughing. Rufus turned and gave both of them a a dangerous look. 

"This is the Promised Land the President has been searching for!!" The fat Shinra Executive bellowed. 

"But I'll be the one who gets it." The President murmured, turning back to the window. "Sorry, old man." He carried on staring into the clouds for a while. He turned again to hear Hojo mumble about something or other. Rude turned to look at Rufus, while the sound of Hojo's laughter filled the airship. The President cringed. The bald Turk walked over to Rufus. The blonde was still looking out over the clouds. 

"What did the old coot just ramble on about then?" Rufus flicked his hair back with a hand. 

"Something about a reunion happening. He also said he wondered if Sephiroth was going to be there." The blonde turned to the Turk. 

"He just gets weirder and weirder." The airship came to a halt, as it reached it's destination. "Stay in the ship. This shouldn't take too long." He jogged out of the room. Scarlet stared for a while then followed. Hojo followed behind her, still laughing hideously. 

Rufus wanted to know what Hojo was planning. He knew that the maniac was up to something or other. Hopefully he would spill the beans once down in the crater. Hopefully. The blonde eventually reached a cavern. The walls looked like they were covered in crystal. The blonde woman wandered in a few minutes later. 

"Wow!! That's amazing!" She ran to the centre of the room and back to Rufus, looking up. Rufus looked up as well. Near the ceiling of the cave there was a huge, tree-like, amazing structure. Sunlight diffused through it, into the cave. One huge blue stone was in the center of it. Scarlet came to a conclusion. "It's all materia!!" Rufus looked at her. 

"The outside is rich with Mako energy, The inside is a treasure trove of Materia. This truly is the Promised Land." No body noticed the skinny scientist walk in and speak. 

"There is no such thing as the Promised Land. It's a legend... an old wives tale... ...it's utterly ridiculous." The President, a bit startled, turned to look at him. 

"Everything as I imagined it to be. Isn't it splendid? It is that kind of dullness that makes you a second-rate scientist." Rufus smirked at his comment. He was thrown off balance when the room started to shake. He spun round. "What's happening?" 

"It's coming from within the wall! Something's in there! It's moving!" Scarlet pointed to the wall. The President looked to where she was pointing. Just as he did, a huge eye winked from within the wall. 

"Weapon..." The scientist smirked. "Then it really does exist... I didn't believe in it." Rufus turned round slowly, staring at the black haired man. 

"What does this mean?" He asked in a dangerously low tone. Hojo looked at him. 

"...Weapon. Monsters created by the Planet. It appears when the Planet is in danger, reducing everything to nothingness. That's what was stated in Professor Gast's report." The blonde looked at him, puzzled. 

"I never saw that report... Where is it?" The scientist opened his coat and pulled out a tape. 

"Here, right here." Rufus glared. 

"You keep a lot of things to yourself." 

"Indeed I do." Rufus just wanted to hit Hojo by now. Scarlet walked up to the blonde man. 

"Mr. President... I've got a bad feeling about this place..." Rufus thought for a moment. He turned to her and put a hand to his chin. 

"Hmm... perhaps we should return to the ship now. We need to prepare for the inspection anyway." Just as he started to turn away, the whole area flashed white. 

"Hey!!! Where did you come from?" Rufus spun around to look at the blonde woman, who had shouted, then at the blonde man now stood in the centre of the room. 

"...don't know..." Cloud muttered. He looked at Rufus. 

"This place is going to get rough. Better leave things to me and get out of here while you still can!!" The blonde President, who had just had about enough of everything right now, flicked his hair back. 

"Leave things to you? Hmph... I don't know what you mean." Rufus scoffed as he watched Cloud walk slightly away from him. 

"This is where the Reunion is happening. Where everything begins and ends." Rufus turned to Hojo, who was grinning like an idiot by now. As the brunette ran into the cave, the blonde President just stared at her. 

"Cloud!!" Tifa shouted. The red cat like creature also ran in. 

"I'm here to help you, Cloud!" Everyone watched as Cloud, holding his head down and stopping once in a while, walked over to Red. 

"Thanks... Red XIII. Where's the Black Materia?" Tifa shouted again, but Cloud took no notice. 

"It's safe. I'm holding onto it." Red answered. Cloud looked down yet again. 

"I'll take it from here. Give me the... Black Materia." The brunette shouted again, but still Cloud took no notice. 

"Are you all right, Cloud?" The cat asked. The blonde nodded. "Then... here you go. I was a little apprehensive holding this thing." Cloud took the materia. 

"Thanks. ......leave the rest to me." He walked to the centre of the room, while everyone was staring at him. Hojo was still grinning like a maniac. "Everyone, thanks for everything. And... I'm sorry." 

"Ha, ha, ha... this is perfect!!! It means that my experiment was a complete success!" Hojo began to laugh. "What number were you? Huh? Where is your tattoo?" Cloud shook his head. 

"Professor Hojo... I don't have a number. You didn't give me one because I was a failed experiment." Hojo scowled and turned away. 

"What the--? You mean only a failure made it here?" 

"Professor... please give me a number. Please, Professor..." Hojo spun back round, glaring at the man. 

"Shut up, miserable failure..." Cloud stood back a bit, then he just lifted into the air, stopping at the tree-like structure above them. 

"Who... was that?" Rufus decided to ask, not knowing what had just happened, at all. 

"...He's a Sephiroth-clone I created after the real Sephiroth died five years ago. Jenova cells and Mako, with my knowledge and skills, have been combined with science and nature to bring him to life." He looked up towards the tree. "...I'm not wild about the failure part, but the Jenova Reunion Theory has now been proven. You see, even if Jenova's body is dismembered, it will eventually become one again. That's what is meant by Jenova's Reunion. I have been waiting for the Reunion to start. Five years have passed, and now the Clones have begun to return. I thought the clones would begin to gather at Midgar where Jenova is stored. But my predictions were not entirely correct. Jenova itself began to move away from the Shinra Building." Rufus looked up to see Cloud, now stood by the huge blue stone. Hojo carried on talking. "But being a genius that I am, I soon figured it out. You see it was all Sephiroth's doing. Sephiroth is not just content to diffuse his will into the Lifestream; he wants to manipulate the Clones himself." Cloud crossed his legs and hovered near the stone. "Yes, that was how it got started. I wondered where the clones were going, but I was never able to figure it out. couldn't figure it out, either. The one thing that I did know was that Sephiroth was at their final destinations. I wasn't pursuing Sephiroth. I was being summoned by Sephiroth. All the anger and hatred I bore him made it impossible for me to ever forget him. That and what he gave me." Cloud then, defying all gravity, stood upside down on one of the roots. "Sephiroth? Sephiroth? I'm here. And I have brought you the Black Materia. Show yourself to me. Where are you?" The blonde stood nearer to the stone "Sephiroth... So we finally meet again." 

The blonde Avalanche member walked to the centre of the tree. The stone slipped down a few yards. Rufus' eyes went wide, when he saw that encased inside the blue stone, was Sephiroth. Hojo started to cackle. The blonde man took one look at Hojo, looked at Scarlet, who was starting at him and they both ran off. Rufus didn't want to find out what else Hojo had to say. He'd already seen enough. What the hell was going on? Rufus stopped running. _'I have the perfect opportunity to catch Avalanche.'_ He smirked and ran back into the cave once again.  


"Whatever I say now is too little... too late... We must evacuate." Everyone in the cave turned to him. "I want you all to come with me. There is still much more I want to hear." He ran off again, deciding that he didn't care if they followed him or not. He looked behind him to see that they actually had followed him. He smirked again. The ground shook once more and he was nearly knocked off balance. Pushing off the ground with one hand to right himself, he jumped onto the airship, where Reno and Rude were stood outside.

"Err...... What the fuck is happening out there Ruf?" The red head asked, holding onto a hand rail.

"Don't ask, ok. Just go and tell the pilot to lift off." Reno nodded and ran back inside. Rufus stared at the crater. As the ship began to take off, a beam shot out of the crater. The blonde man looked in awe. After the beam disbursed, a huge, dragon like creature emerged from the hole. That was followed by a red creature. More Weapons climbed out the hole. A huge dark purple coloured one, was stood near the flying Highwind. It powered up and shot off, rocking the airship dangerously. A few minutes later all the weapons had gone, the area was calm again, the only thing different was the huge barrier that was now covering the crater, where Sephiroth still slept.

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	11. Chapter 10 In Midgar

**Scars of the Past**

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_It's kinda hard with you not around - Know you in heaven smiling down - Watching us while we pray for you - Every day we pray for you - Till the day we meet again - In my heart is where I'll keep you friend - Memories give me the strength I need to proceed - Strength I need to believe - My thoughts Big I just can't define - Wish I could turn back the hands of time - Us in the six, shop for new clothes and kicks - You and me taking flicks - Making hits, stages they receive you on - Still can't believe you're gone - Give anything to hear half your breath - I know you still living you're life, after death - Every step I take, every move I make - Every single day, every time I pray - I'll be missing you - Thinking of the day, when you went away - What a life to take, what a bond to break - I'll be missing you_ _(Puff Daddy - I'll be Missing you)_  
  
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**Chapter 10 - In Midgar**

Back in Midgar, Reno was once again sat on the roof of the Shinra building. He put his head in his hands. It felt as if the Turks were dropping off like flies. With that he was losing the only friends he had. He looked up into the sky, at the huge meteor that had appeared soon after the barrier had emerged, sealing off the crater. Didn't look like any of them were going to last too much longer. The red head pulled his knees up to his chest. He was too involved in his own thoughts to notice the blonde woman that sat beside him. She bent round to look in straight in the face. 

"Scarlet?" Reno looked at her, kind of puzzled. 

"Yes it's me. Is that really so hard to believe?" The Turk shook his head. "Elena told me you'd probably be up here." They sat in silence for a while, until Reno spoke up. 

"I know I'm not the son-in-law you always hoped for.........." 

"What the hell gave you that idea?" Scarlet cut in. 

"Well, throwing shoes at me doesn't exactly give me the impression you like me all that much." The blonde chuckled. 

"I don't do that because I hate you. You can be annoying sometimes though." Reno laughed this time. 

"Annoying people is what I do best." He said, trying to look proud about it, but failed. 

"Reno, If I hated you that much would I have let you marry Addy?" Scarlet spoke softly. 

"I always wondered why you actually let me marry her." 

"You want to know why?" Reno looked at her. 

"Yes....." Scarlet looked up at the meteor. 

"When she brought you home for the first time...." 

"Not exactly a good example there." Reno cut in. The blonde laughed. 

"Look I forgot about the whole whore thing." 

"Doesn't sound like it to me." 

"Just shut up will you?" Reno didn't answer, so she continued. "When she first brought you home, I looked at her when she was staring at you." She stopped for a minute. "The look she had in her eyes, when she was staring at you, just shouted out that she loved you with all her heart." Reno sighed. He let his legs fall back over the side of the building, and rested his chin on his hands. 

"I'll never find anyone like Addy." Scarlet looked at him. 

"What the hell you on about? Shit, Reno you're only twenty four. That's not exactly old." She paused for a moment. "What about Elly?" Reno spun his head round to look at her. 

"She's.... just a friend, and I'm not twenty four for much longer." He hesitated. Scarlet smiled. 

"Reno, no one is going to think any less of you, if you find someone else." She carried on when he didn't interrupt. "I made that mistake." 

"Would I be such a bad person, if I said I liked Elly a little bit more than a friend?" Scarlet shook her head. 

"Of course you wouldn't." She stood up and brushed her dress down. "Just think about it ok? Don't let yourself think that you'll never find anyone else. You've probably got at least another fifty years to live. Do you really want to be on your own?" With that she walked back in the building. 

"Maybe I don't wanna be on my own." Reno muttered, before getting up, taking one last glance at the fiery rock in the sky, and strolling back inside. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Elena was sat in a chair in Reeve's Office, staring at the two children who were playing. Reeve stopped writing his paperwork and looked over to her. 

"What's up?" The blonde looked at him, a bit startled that he spoke. 

"What makes you think there's something up?" 

"You're staring off into space, you only do that when you're thinking hard. What's up?" He tried again. Elena sighed. 

"Nothing is up." She mumbled. 

"You could have fooled me." He put down his pen. "Seriously El, What's a matter?" She fidgeted around in her chair. 

"Nothing!" She shouted. Callum and Marlene even looked up at her. She sighed again and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Ok, so there's something, but I don't wanna talk about it." Rude stood up from where he was sat, and walked closer to the desk. 

"You like Reno." It was more of a statement that a question. Elena nearly dropped the cup of coffee she was holding. 

"What?" 

"You like Reno. It obvious." The male Turk stood up, walking over to get some coffee. 

"He has a point, El. Hell even I can see it." Reeve told her. She sighed in defeat. She sat there for a moment or two before talking. 

"I thought it was just a crush that would go away, like Tseng was, but now the crush for Tseng has gone, but Reno is........." She whispered, trailing off near the end. Rude and Reeve looked at each other. 

"You like him." The black haired man said. The red haired boy had walked over sometime during the conversation. He tugged at Elena's trouser leg. 

"If you like daddy, does that mean you are gonna be my new mummy. I'd like you as my new mummy." The blonde stared at the child. She heard Reeve chuckle. 

"Damn, he's smart for a three year old." 

"I'm four soon." The little boy beamed, proudly. "So my daddy told me anyway." Elena was still trying to get over the shock of what Callum had said to her. He held his arms out to be picked up, so she complied. 

"Shit..... if it's Callum's birthday soon then it must be......." She trailed off. 

"Reno's as well." Rude finished for her. He patted her on the back. "Don't worry, there's still like four weeks left till his birthday." She looked at the two men. 

"Neither of you are going to say anything, are you? You too Callum." They all shook their heads. "Good." She smiled. The door banged open, making Elena jump half a mile into the air. The blonde President stormed in and dropped onto the chair Rude was sat in before. 

"Aren't you supposed to be in Junon?" Reeve asked. He looked up. 

"I just came back to drag fat ass and Scarlet with me. Not that I want to or anything." The blonde sighed. "Has any of you seen Scarlet anywhere? I found fat bastard, he's already getting on the ship." 

"She went to talk to Reno. She should be back soon though, because she went ages ago." Elena answered. The President nodded. 

"Looking for me?" The blonde woman in question asked from the doorway. Rufus jumped out his chair. 

"Scarlet! Come on, you're coming to Junon with me and fat ass." 

"Oh joy." She said sarcastically. She turned and headed towards her office. The blonde man turned when he reached the doorway. 

"See you all sometime next week." He shouted, then turned and walked off down the hallway. Reno poked his head around the door. 

"What's he doing here?" He asked, making Elena jump out of her skin again. Reeve chuckled. 

"Just came by to find Heidegger and Scarlet. He's going back to Junon now." Rude answered. 

"Daddy?" Callum asked, walking over to the red head. "You still haven't got me that ice scream." Reno smiled. 

"We'll go now ok?" The little boy nodded. 

"Can Elly come?" 

"If Elly wants to....." Reno looked at the blonde. She smiled and nodded. Callum smiled ran up to Elena and started dragging her out the door. After they left Reeve looked at Rude. 

"Hundred Gil says that them two end up going out in the next two months." Reeve said. 

"I say in a month. You're on." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Callum was sat on a swing, strawberry ice cream all over his face, while Elena and Reno were sat on a bench nearby. 

"Scarlet found you then?" She asked, after they had been sat in silence for almost ten minutes. 

"Yeah. It's just like you to know where am I." She smiled. 

"I'm your friend, it's my job to know." They sat in silence again before Reno spoke. 

"She was just giving me some advice that's all." The blonde looked at him. "I knew you were gonna ask what she wanted, so I thought I'd tell you before you bothered to ask." 

"What advice then?" 

"Errr...." The male Turk hesitated for a minute. "....... She told me that I shouldn't think I won't find anyone else." He whispered. Elena looked up at the sky. 

"Do you think that?" 

"Not anymore......" He whispered more to himself than to the blonde, but she hear him. 

"What made you change your mind?" 

_'You did'._ He thought to himself but actually said, "I don't know." Elena twirled her short hair around one finger. 

"Did she start with the, 'no one is going to think any less of you, if you find someone else' speech?" 

"Yeah, how did you......." The blonde chuckled a bit 

"Addy gave Scarlet the same speech when her father left." Reno looked at the ground. 

"I completely forgot about her father leaving. No wonder Scarlet said that she made that mistake........." He trailed off. "She should really take her own advice....." 

"She's right though Reno. Not one of us will think you're a bad person if you find someone else." The red head gazed at the swing for a while before talking again. 

"How are you anyway? I mean Tseng and that......." He trailed off. 

"I'm fine. I figured out it was just a crush. I miss having him around though." 

"It's kinda quiet......... ok well not by much, but it's still........." 

"It's different. I know what you mean." Elena cut in. Reno nodded at her. He looked up at the meteor. 

"Makes you wonder if that hunk of junk is actually gonna hit us or not, or by some miracle Rufus finds a way to get rid of it." 

"Is it just me, or does it look like that thing is heading straight towards here?" Elena asked. 

"I've had that feeling all along. Seems fitting that the place where it all started would be the first to go." He looked at Callum, who was grinning his head off, while trying to see how high he could swing. Reno stood up from the bench. "We'd better be getting back." Elena nodded. 

"Think about it though Reno. If you manage to find someone else, tell them. Just don't hang around too long." She began to walk off. Reno smiled._ 'I won't_' He glanced over to Callum. 

"Come on Kid, time to go." Callum shot off the swing and ran up to his dad. 

_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_


	12. Chapter 11 Scarlet's Slapping Fight

**Scars of the Past**

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_Baby you're all that I want - When you're lying here in my arms - I'm finding it hard to believe - We're in heaven - And love is all that I need - And I found it there in your heart - It isn't too hard to see - We're In Heaven_ _(DJ Sammy - Heaven)_  
  
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**Chapter 11 - Scarlet's Slapping Match**

Rufus was stood looking out the huge office window in Junon, Heidegger stood to one side. Weapon was causing havoc near the Junon base, the President's reason for dragging Heidegger back with him. The blonde was running out of ideas. He knew the whole world wanted to get rid of the meteor. He also knew they were relying on Shinra to get rid of it for them. It was times like this he wished his old man was still alive, just so he didn't have to take this shit. 

"The other prisoner is awake, Sir." The Shinra Executive said, beside him. 

"About time." Rufus mumbled. He stormed off towards the room they were being kept in. A guard opened the door. He strolled into the room, starting at the brunette and then coloured man. 

"I thought Cloud would show up to save you all... Professor Hojo wanted to check up on Cloud, too." Tifa glared at the blonde. 

"What are you going to do to Cloud?" She whispered. 

"Sephiroth's alter ego..." He flipped his hair out of his eyes. "Meteor has been summoned... Essentially, it's all but over now. So, there's no need for you now. No, maybe there is an important task for you..." He watched, out the corner of his eye, as Heidegger walked into the room. 

"President! Preparations for the public execution are complete." Rufus grinned as he saw the reaction from the two prisoners. 

"Execution!? What're ya gonna get by executin' us?" Barret shouted. 

"You are to be executed for causing this situation." The President said adding in his mind, _'As well as killing one of my best friends.'_ "People are ignorant. They'll feel better as long as someone is punished." He smirked even more. He watched, amused, as Barret ran up to him. 

"I take back what little praise I had for this damn jackass!" He calmed down. 

"Well, enjoy your last moments together." Rufus turned and walked out the room, back to the window he was stood in front of before. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The three Turks were sat in their Office. Reno had his feet up on his desk, leaning back on two legs of his chair. Elena was sat on the sofa, nursing a cup of coffee. Rude had ended up getting roped into playing on Rufus' game of Frazzle, by Callum, who thought it was amusing to see all the adults fail miserably at the game. The bald Turk just wanted to prove the little boy wrong. The blonde Turk had begun to watch them playing and smiled when Rude touch the metal bit again, and the buzzer went off. Callum laughed. The little brown haired girl laughed with him. They had finally got rid of Elmyra. Reno acquired some of the guards to take her to Kalm, telling her that Marlene would follow as soon as they were done with her. Callum had moaned when he got told Marlene was to leave, so she was still there. Apparently, Reno has a very soft spot when it comes towards his son. The buzzer went off yet again. 

"Look Rude, you aren't ever going to do that game. Give up while you're ahead, or not in your case." Reno told the other Turk. Rude just glared at him. He then smirked and shoved the table a little bit. Reno, not ready for the sudden movement, fell backwards off his chair. Elena giggled, while Rude kept on smirking. Even the two children were laughing. The red head stood up quick and glared at Rude. 

"Serves you right Reno, you shouldn't piss Rude off while sat on two legs of your chair." The blonde said, giggling. 

"Oh yeah, gang up on me why don't you." Reno said, rubbing the back of his head. 

"We will, don't worry." Elena replied. Reno thought for a second. 

"Aren't they broadcasting that execution on television?" Rude nodded at him and flick on the television set that was next to him. 

_ "Scarlet, why a public execution in this day and age?"_

_ "With the chaos resulting from the Meteor reports, we desperately need to rally public support... it's better that we punish somebody, anybody." A mumble from Tifa could be heard. "Ha, ha, ha, ha! They'll never admit it, but everyone loves this stuff!" Scarlet turned to Tifa. "We'll start with this girl."_

_ "If you've gotta do it... do me first!" Barret shouted._

_ "Camera, this way! Make sure you get this, the audience just eats up tearful goodbyes!" The camera shows Barret for a spilt second then switches to Scarlet, pushing Tifa towards the gas chamber._

_ "What are you doing!?"_

_ "This is my special gas chamber. Take your time, and enjoy a slow, painful death." A guard fastened Tifa into the chair. "Stuck up ^%$#&!!"_

"Someone has some issues still." Reno mumbled. Elena nodded to agree. 

_ "Well now, the show's about to begin. Ha, ha, ha!" Scarlet slapped Tifa and walked out of the room. A red light went off._

_ "Emergency! Emergency! Weapon's approaching! Attention all military personnel: take your positions!"_

_ "Run!" The camera shut off, and a Shinra logo appeared on the screen instead._

"Just when it was getting fun." The red head muttered. 

"Do you think everything at Junon will be ok?" The blonde asked quietly. 

"Them Weapon attacks have been happening all week El. They'll be fine. I actually hope it will fry Heidegger though, but my luck isn't good enough for that to happen." The blonde chuckled. 

"Why do you hate Heidegger that much?" She asked. 

"Because he hates me that much." Reno smirked. "I still make it my sworn duty to piss him off everyday." 

"What happens when he's away, like now for instances?" The red head smirked even more. 

"I get Ruffie to do it for me." 

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Rufus was stood near the huge window of an office in Junon. Heidegger ran up to him. The blonde smirked put his foot out and Heidegger went flying flat on his face. Rufus smirked even more as the fat man got up, mumbling under his breath. He had a pissed look on his face, but never said anything. 

"What is it?" Rufus asked in a stern tone, trying to keep a straight face. 

"It's Weapon." The Shinra Executive told him. The President thought for a moment. 

"There's been so many attacks lately. Can we handle it?" 

"I believe so. Your orders?" 

"No need to ask." The blonde flipped his hair back with his hand.

"We'll give it a shot from our big cannon." He turned to the sailors that were behind him and drove his fist in the air. "Open cannon doors!! Activate cannon. Target: Weapon!!" 

"Preparations complete!" A sailor said. Heidegger nodded. 

"The cannon..." He drove his fist towards the bay window, to the sea. "Fire----!!!" Rufus watched as the cannon fired a huge yellow ball of energy and shot out towards the sea. It hit something and exploded.

"Did we get 'em?" Rufus asked after a short while. Heidegger nodded.

"Seems so..." As soon as he said that, the red light and alarm went off, yet again. Heidegger spun around, confused.

_"Weapon approaching! Speed, 50 knots! It's heading right toward us!"_ Shouted a voice from the speakers. The fat man looked at the President

"It can't be! We hit it dead on!" Heidegger looked like he was about to have a temper tantrum. Rufus turned to look at him.

"How about the cannon?"

"It'll take time to reload."

"Then use regular firepower in the mean time!" Heidegger ran towards the door, fist in the air.

"Yes sir! Open all artillery doors! Target: Weapon! Don't let it land!" Rufus watched as all the soldiers down on the docks fired. He shook his head.

_"Speed: 70 knots! Weapon closing in! Not good! It's attacking!" _Weapon stopped right outside the window and powered up, shooting a beam that cut through some of the building. The whole place shook. Rufus steadied himself, mutter swear words as he did. The Weapon powered up again for a second blast, but this time the cannon shot straight into it's mouth before it got a chance to shoot. It looked stunned for a few minutes, then fell back into the water. The blonde smirked.

"One down, four to go."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"What d'you do? Hey! Open it!" Scarlet shouted as she saw Tifa trying to escape from the hole Weapon made.

"First you lock me in this weird place, and now you're telling me to come out? Make up your mind!" The brunette shouted as she climbed through the hole. Scarlet swore. She managed to get the door open and followed her to the end of the cannon. Tifa looked around, helplessly, at the dead end.

"Our little game of hide and seek ends here." The blonde walked a little closer. "The execution may have been unsuccessful, but your death by falling from here and crashing into the water below might be pretty exciting." She walked up to Tifa and slapped her. "Stuck up to the end!"

"Quit slapping me! You old wench!" Tifa shouted, this just got Scarlet even more mad at her. She slapped her again.

"You deserve ever slap you get, you miserable little murderer!" Another slap hit the brunette's face. "Blowing up Reactor one, was the biggest mistake you ever made!" Scarlet shouted. She went to slap the girl again, but she blocked it. Scarlet re-thought her plan, kicked Tifa in the shin and pulled her by the hair down to the floor. She kneeled down to whisper in her ear. "Just by blowing up one reactor and killing just one person who was in there, you made the lives of about twenty people miserable, including a three year old child." She said deadly serious, pulling her up so she had to look at the blonde. "Just let that lay on your conscience for the rest of your life, won't you?" Scarlet let go of her hair and turned to the guard behind her. "God! I can't stand it! Take her away." A guard came up to corner the girl. "Now it's time to pay up. I'll really drop you if you don't settle down!" She began to laugh.

Tifa looked up into the air, then ran towards the end of the cannon. The guard followed her. The brunette jumped off the cannon, grabbing onto a rope. Scarlet spun round just in time to see the Highwind flying off.

"God damn it! Now they've stolen the stupid airship. Rufus isn't going to happy about this."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"THEY'VE WHAT???" Rufus shouted in Heidegger's face. 

"They've stolen the Highwind, Sir." The fat man mumbled. 

"You're an incompetent bastard, you know that?" Rufus said, calming down a little. Heidegger looked to the floor. "Let them have the stupid Highwind. It's a piece of crap anyway." He walked off. "I'm going back to Midgar. Don't you dare come back until you've cleaned this fiasco up." He stormed out the room and slammed the big oak doors. Heidegger winced as they shut. 

The blonde walked off towards the airport. He turned around one corner of the corridor, to come face to face with Scarlet. 

"You going back to Midgar, Sir?" She asked quietly. Rufus frowned. He wasn't used to the blonde woman being like this. He nodded. 

"You're coming back with me. Fat ass is stopping her to clean this mess up." She nodded and began to follow him to the helicopter. Rufus stopped and turned to her. "What's a matter?" Scarlet was shocked to here him ask, but answered away.

"Just thinking........... about Addy." She whispered. Rufus looked at her and urged her to carry on. "I was trying to stop the brunette from getting on the Highwind, so I lost my temper and starting shouting at her........... about reactor one." The blonde man didn't know what to say, so decided to stay silent. He smiled a little at the blonde woman then turned and headed off towards the airport again. Scarlet smiled and began to follow him again.

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	13. Chapter 12 A Board Meeting

**Scars of the Past**

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_And you can easily gamble your life away - Second after second and day by day - You can play the game or you can walk away - It's a new turn on a blue day - And a cool deal of life for me - And it's all good - I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier - I know that the clubs are weapons of war - I know that diamonds mean money for this art - But that's not the shape of my heart_ _ (Sugababes - Shape)_  
  
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**Chapter 12 - A Board Meeting**

In the Shinra Board Room, back in Midgar. Rufus was stood at the head of the table, Reeve stood to one side and Heidegger was sat down in one of the chairs. The President winked at Reeve, who then fiddled about with something in his coat for a few minutes. He stopped, straighten out his jacket, then Rufus started the meeting. 

"Now then...... We're faced with two issues." He held one finger up "One. Destroy Meteor." He held another finger up. " Two. Remove the barrier around North Cave and defeat Sephiroth." He brought his hand down and looked at the two people. "Any ideas?" Heidegger stood up. 

"Gya haah hah hah! We already solved the first problem! Meteor will soon be smashed to bits! The plan has already been put in motion. Namely, to collect Huge Materia from each region." Rufus stared at the Shinra Executive for a few moments. 

"Well......" He pondered. A blonde woman appeared from behind Rufus, stopping next to him. 

"Huge Materia is a high density special type of materia made through a special compression process in Mako reactors." Scarlet said. Rufus nodded and she continued. "The energy extracted from it is three hundred and thirty times the strength of normal materia. Ha, ha, ha! How about that!?" She crossed her arms while turning to the other two men in the board room. "We will gather all the Huge Materia together and ram it into Meteor." She turned to look back at the President. "That will cause a huge explosion!! Reducing Meteor literally to bits." Rufus stared at her again. 

"You're going to ram into Meteor? Do you think we have the technology to do it?" He asked, cautiously. 

"Don't worry about that! More importantly, we've got to collect Huge Materia from each area." Heidegger stood up after Scarlet had finished talking. 

"We've already collected materia from Nibelheim. All that's left is "Corel" and "Fort Condor". I've already dispatched troops to Corel. Ghaa haah hah hah!" Rufus looked to Reeve, who then fiddled about in his jacket again. 

"So, why exactly are we telling Avalanche what we are doing?" Scarlet asked, after the black haired man finished switching off the transmitter for Cait. 

"I want to see if they'll do anything about it." Rufus said, relaxing into a chair nearby. 

"What if they take the huge materia?" She questioned him. 

"Makes it easier for us. You're planning to use the Rocket from Rocket Town to destroy the meteor right?" Scarlet nodded. "Who's Rocket is that?" The blonde stared at him. 

"Cid's" She mumbled. 

"Exactly. They'll try and stop the launch of the rocket anyway. Hopefully, they'll have all the huge materia on them, as well as the materia we have from Nibelheim, which will be planted in the rocket. If we launch the thing with them inside, we get rid of two problems at once." Scarlet looked at Heidegger and they both grinned. 

"I knew there was a reason you were President." Rufus smirked. 

"Reeve, are Avalanche going to Coral?" The Shinra Executive nodded. "Also solves another problem, we know where they are going too." He smirked. "Avalanche thinks, that Cait is spying on us for them, when he's actually still spying for Shinra." He started laughing. "God I love gullible people." He took out a cigarette and lit it. "Where's that stupid game? I need to show that kid I can do it." Reeve smiled. 

"It was in the Turks office. Last time I checked, Callum had roped Rude into playing it. He wasn't succeeding at it either." Rufus jumped up. 

"Excuse me, I have a game to play." He walked off out of the room. Scarlet followed. 

"This is something I've got to see." She mumbled. Reeve strolled off after them both. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rude was still playing Frazzle, and still losing. Reno was sat nearby, laughing everytime Rude touched the metal. Callum and Marlene had gotten bored and had took to playing on Elena's computer, Elena sat nearby watching them. 

"Reno, don't you have a underwater reactor to go to?" The blonde Turk asked. Reno waved her off. 

"I'll go in a bit." She sighed. There was a knock at the door. All three Turks looked at it puzzled. No one ever knocked on their door, they always just walked straight in. Reno jumped up and opened it. On the other side was Rufus, grinning like a mad man. 

"Errr...... Hello?" The red haired Turk asked, uncertainly. 

"Have you still got that game?" It was Reno's turn to grin now. 

"Fancy another go do you?" He let the blonde President past him. 

"Damn right. I'm not going to let a three year old beat me." 

"We'll see Ruffie." Rufus stared at him. 

"Don't you have an underwater reactor to go to?" 

"Ok I'm going. God, it's like none of you want me here." No one answered, so Reno left the room, mumbling every swear word ever written, some in different languages. He bumped into Scarlet and Reeve on the way out. 

"Where are you going?" Reeve asked the red head. 

"Junon, to the world famous, stupid, crappy, underwater, mako sucking, thing." He stormed past them both. The two Shinra Executives looked at each other. 

"He seemed pissed off." The black haired man said after a few seconds. 

"Understatement of the year, Reeve." Scarlet poked her head round the office door. "Why's Reno so pissed off?" Rufus grinned. 

"The mission I sent him on involves dragging about twenty guards with him." 

"Ah......... What is this bloody game everyone keeps going on about?" Callum looked up. 

"What Frazzle? Want a game?" Scarlet looked at Rufus, who was now glaring at her. 

"Sure, why not." The blonde woman sat down and took the plastic handle in her hand. She followed the metal shape around, making sure not the touch the metal. She started grinning, when she was over half way round without touching it. Rufus' mouth stared to drop open, and Elena was grinning as well. She got to the end of the shape and pulled the metal part of the handle away from the maze. "Well would you look at that......." 

"Shut up. Just shut up, Scarlet." The President sat sulking on the office floor. Elena was giggling. 

"Maybe all men can't do this game." Scarlet started giggling with her. Rude was even glaring at the two blondes now. Reeve looked as though he was concentrating. He interrupted the laughing. 

"Rufus?" The blonde looked at him. "Avalanche are in Mideel now. Seems they've found Cloud again. They've also managed to get both huge materia from Coral and Fort Condor." Rufus frowned. 

"Damn that was quick." He thought to himself for a moment, then spoke up. "Scarlet, go and find fat ass and get going to Rocket Town. Rude can go with you." She nodded and left the room, Rude following her. "This idea better work........" Rufus mumbled to himself. 

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In Junon, Reno sat sulking at the underwater dock. He hated working with guards. They just always seemed to get in the way. Maybe that was why Rufus sent so many with him. Hell, he could probably do this job on his own. If he didn't want to do any of the work at all, five guards would be more than enough. He sighed. Elena has phoned him half an hour ago, telling him that Avalanche would probably be coming his way in the next two hours. He smirked, maybe he could have some fun after all. He took out a cigarette from his top pocket, lit it and let it dangle from his lips. He watched as the guards frantically run about trying to make sure the huge materia went on the submarine. One of them ran up to him. 

"Sir! The Huge Materia is ready to be transported onto the submarine, Sir." Reno flicked the cigarette butt onto the floor and stood on it. 

"Get on with it then!" He snapped. How he enjoyed making the guards nervous. 

"Y....yes Sir!" The man ran off. Reno strolled over to the crane and stood there, waiting for it to be transported. He lit up another cigarette as he watched the crane go over his head, bringing a huge lump of glowing rock with it. _'So that's huge materia.'_ he stared at the materia a little longer. He heard someone behind him. Thinking it was a guard, he spoke up. 

"What are you doing? Help load." No one answered, so he turned. "Cloud!?" 

"You know I don't work for cheap!" The pilot said, from over Cloud's shoulder. _'Cocky bastard.'_

"Looks like we barely made it." The brunette whispered. 

"Either give it to us or else. ...which is it gonna be?" Reno stared at Cloud, then to Carry Armor out of the corner of his eye. He smirked. 

"I can't let you take the materia, so it looks like it's gonna be a fight. Just you and me." The red haired Turk took out his nightstick. The blonde unsheathed his sword. 

"Bring it on!" 

Cloud started running at Reno, his sword held back, ready to strike. As the blonde swung the sword towards the red head, Reno jumped out the way and stood his leg out. Cloud fell over the leg, but tumbled gracefully and stood back up again in a split second. The blonde charged again. The Turk jabbed Cloud with his nightstick as soon as he was close enough. The blonde jerked a bit at the sudden burst of electricity that went through him. Reno smirked, taking the stick away and jumping back a little bit. Cloud straighten himself up and chanted a spell. The red head readied himself for the attack, but smirked when he found out it was a bolt spell. Cloud looked shocked for a split second, before he kicked himself for not realising sooner. Since Reno used lighting attacks, a bolt spell would do him no harm. The Turk ran towards Cloud, chanting something as he was running. He held his nightstick out as a ball of lighting shot out the end. The blonde dodged it barely. Reno stopped and chanted the spell again. Cloud didn't dodge this time. The ball of energy hit him and he went sprawling across the floor. The blonde got up, a bit ruffled, but fairly ok. The Turk cursed. Cloud charged again, sword up in the air. Reno smirked. He edged closer to the dock edge. Just as he was right at the edge he stopped, waited for Cloud to get close enough, then jumped out the way. The blonde didn't have time to stop, so went flying off the edge of the dock, into the water below. Reno cracked up laughing as Cloud came to the surface. 

"Having a nice swim, chocobo head?" Cloud glare at him and dragged himself out the water. The blonde shook himself then went to stand with his other two comrades. 

"Are you going to give us the huge materia or not?" Cloud asked, rather pissed off. Reno flicked a strand of hair out of his face. 

"Unfortunately, I don't have anymore time to deal with you." He signalled to the robot off to the side of him. It strode around for a bit then stopped just in front of the group. "My priority is the Huge Materia!" With that he took off out the reactor. There was no damn way he was going in one of Shinra's thirty year old submarines, he'd take the helicopter back to Midgar. He smirked. He really had enjoyed that little fight. 

_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_


	14. Chapter 13 Lovely Lovely Rocket Town

**Scars of the Past**

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_No one else can touch me - Like the way you do - Nothing seems to hurt me - When I am close to you - And I hope that we - Can spend our lives together - I truly wish - That this could last forever - For you and me - And when you cry tears keep on falling - I still feel you love for me is true - _ _And when you cry tears keep on falling - I can see that you are feeling blue (Lasgo - Blue)_  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
**Chapter 13 - Lovely Lovely Rocket Town**

Reno ran down the runway of the airport in Junon, with a great big smirk on his face. He came to the huge Gelnika and jumped in, shutting the door behind him. Everyone already on board looked his way. Scarlet sighed. 

"Great, now we have to drag you with us as well." She folded one leg over the other. The red head looked at her, making out he was hurt. 

"Aw, come on. You know you love me really." The Turk slumped down on one of the benches that was at one side of the plane, where Scarlet was already sitting. Rude was sat on the other side near Heidegger, who was now mumbling under his breath. Reno looked his way and grinned. 

"What's up fat ass? Thought you'd got away from me? Well think again." He started to chuckle as Heidegger started mumbling some more. 

"Did you get the Materia?" Scarlet asked, as the plane took off, destined for Rocket Town. 

"Yep. All nicely tucked up in a sub. Won't get me in one of them things." The blonde looked at him, strangely. 

"Why not?" 

"Hell, the tin cans are like older than I am." Scarlet smiled. 

"Trust you to think of an excuse like that. You just don't like submarines do you?" Reno looked at his feet. 

"So what if I don't? I just don't like the idea of all them gallons of water on top of you." He muttered. The rest of the trip was pretty much spend in silence. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As the Gelnika landed on the airstrip just outside Rocket Town, about twenty or so blue Shinra guards marched onto the runway and waited for the door to open. Scarlet stepped out first. 

"What are you orders, Ma'am?" One guard asked as he stepped out of line. The blonde thought for a minute. 

"Rude!" She shouted. The bald Turk popped his head round the corner of the door. "You go and guard the entrance to the spaceship. Don't let them past till I say. Take a couple of guards with you." Rude nodded, jumping out the plane. He walked up to two guards, grabbed them by the scruff of their necks and dragged them off. "The rest of you just guard wherever." They all nodded and ran off their separate ways. Scarlet walked back over to the plane's doorway and looked in. "Reno, you can come with me and sort out the Auto Pilot." 

"Oh, joy for me, this should be so much fun." He said sarcastically. She turned to walk off, so the red head jumped off the plane and jogged after her. "Why can't you let the technicians fix the Auto Pilot?" He asked, once he had caught up with her. 

"Because they'll fuck up, like they always do." She said, still walking. "I know what's wrong with it. Shouldn't take anymore than half an hour." The Turk nodded. He then started laughing for no apparent reason. Scarlet just gave him a weird look. He looked at her. 

"Just thinking about what I did to Chocobo head before I ran into you." The blonde woman grinned. 

"Are you going to keep me in suspense or are you going to tell me?" Reno looked as though he thought about it for a second or two. 

"Ah, what the hell. They showed up, I made Spike have a fight, I made him fall in the water. That's about what happened." The Shinra Executive started laughing. 

"Now that would have been something to see." Scarlet came to a stand still, right beside the huge green Shinra No. 26. Reno stood beside her and looked up. He let out a long whistler. 

"Now that's what I call big." He looked back at Scarlet. "What happened to the other twenty five rockets?" The blonde grinned. 

"They were never even built. Palmer could never get it right till this one, but it's still never been in space yet." She opened a hatch in the side of the rocket, flipped a switch then closed it. "All done." The Turk looked at her, puzzled. 

"That's it?" She started laughing. 

"Ok, so I lied about the half an hour." He glared at her. 

"And you needed me why?" 

"Just for company. Plus you and I, are going to have a nice little chat to Avalanche, when they get in the rocket." Reno smirked. His PHS went off. 

"Hello, you have reached Reno, the best looking Turk there ever was. How can I help you?" 

_"Very funny Reno."_

"What's up, Rude?" 

_ "Avalanche are in the rocket."_ The bald Turk then hung up. 

"Showtime ladies and gentlemen." Reno said as he put the PHS back in his pocket. Scarlet smiled and pulled out a transmitter. Her and the Turk then walked back towards the plane. 

_ "What the hell......? What the hell happened?" _Came Cid's voice through the device. 

"Heh, Hello there, our friendly neighbourhood terrorists." The red head said. 

_ "Turk, What the hell did'ya do!?"_

"We turned the Auto Pilot on, Cid old boy." The blonde added. 

_ "Should have known you'd be in on it too, Scarlet."_

"Well you know me." She laughed. 

_ "DAMN! Won't even budge! It's completely locked up!"_

"Let take this moment to reflect on something." Reno spoke up. 

_"And what would that be."_ Cloud's voice came over the receiver this time. 

"The fact that all your troubles started when you blew up one lousy reactor." 

_"Not this again....."_

"Yes this again! It'll haunt you for the rest of your life, I'll make sure of it." Reno sneered. "No one kills my wife, and leaves a kid without a mum and gets away with it." None of them replied to that. Scarlet looked at the Turk, seeing that he wasn't going to say anything else, she spoke. 

"Almost time for lift off." 

_ "What the!? No countdown!? It just don't seem the same without it!" _Cid shouted. 

"You don't deserve a countdown. You see, when the rocket goes into space, it's going to head towards the meteor, with you all onboard. So say bye bye to your worthless lives." With that she shut off the receiver and watched as the rocket blasted off into space. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Back in Midgar, as the meteor was knitted itself back together after the materia filled rocket had blasted into it. Rufus Shinra found out something. 

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN AVALANCHE ARE STILL ALIVE????" He was stood up, hands leaning on his desk. Reeve just stared at the blonde President, not moving once. 

"They're alive. We forgot that the rocket had a escape pod and they used it." Rufus slumped into his chair. 

"Damn it all to hell." He muttered. "First the plan to blow up the meteor fails, then Avalanche live anyway. I at least hoped that plan would have worked." He stood up again. "I suppose we'd better go on with the Sephiroth plan then. How's the moving of the cannon going?" He asked, directing the question at Heidegger who was stood a little behind Reeve. 

"It should be here tomorrow. It'll take a couple of days to set it up." With that the green suited man left the room.

"Are you sure about using the reactors to power it instead of the huge materia?" The black haired man asked. Rufus nodded. 

"We can't power it any other way now, there's no huge materia left." Reno bound into the room at that moment. 

"Hello there boys and fat ass." The President grinned. 

"Hello there birthday boy." The Turk glared. 

"I don't know what you're on about." He hissed. Rufus smirked. 

"I suppose those birthday drinks I had planned you don't want then." 

"Can I have the drinks but still be twenty four?" The red head whined. The President and Reeve laughed. The blonde put his arm round the Turk, leading him out the room. 

"If it helps you that much, I can try and arrange it for you." 

"Really? You're not going to stick me in a contraption Hojo's made, are you?" He whined, in a voice a scared child would use. This just prompted Rufus to laugh even more. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Callum was sat in the Turks Office, pouting. To be more exact he was sat on Elena's knee. Marlene was to be sent to be with Elmyra in Kalm, but Callum didn't want her to go. The brown haired girl was stood near the door way, looking at the little red haired boy. Callum jumped off Elena's knee and walked up to the girl. 

"I don't want you to go." He whispered 

"Me neither." Marlene whispered back. 

"I'll see you again, won't I?" 

"Of course you will. At least one day anyway." She stopped for a minute. "We'll always be friends, right?" The red head smiled. 

"Yay!" He hugged the little girl. 

"Happy birthday." She whispered for one last time, before the guards lead her away. She smiled at him as she walked off. Callum smiled back. 

"Thank you." He said into thin air when the girl disappeared round a corner. He was still staring when his dad came round the corner. "Daddy!!" He shouted and ran up to him. Reno picked him up. 

"Hey. How's the birthday boy?" The Turk ruffled his son's hair. The boy sniffed. 

"Marlene's gone." He rubbed his eye. 

"You'll see her again kiddo." Callum brighten up. 

"Really?" 

"Of course you will." Reno put the boy back down. He walked over to the Turks' Office and poked his head round the door. "El, come on, drinky time." Elena smiled. 

"Rufus has promised you some alcohol then?" Reno smiled back. 

"Hell yeah. You think I'd buy my own?" The blonde started laughing. 

"Of course not, that's just not you." The red head rested his hand on his hip so Elena could hook her arm through it. 

"May I escort this fine lady to the bar?" She giggled. 

"Of course you can." She took up his offer and they both walked out the room, Callum trailing behind, giggling. 

_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_


	15. Chapter 14 Party Time

**Scars of the Past**

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_I'm sitting here alone up in my room - And thinking about the times that we've been through, oh my love - I'm looking at a picture in my hand - Trying my best to understand - I really want to know what we did wrong - With a love that felt so strong - If only you were here tonight - I know that we could make it right - I don't know how to live without your love - I was born to make you happy - 'Cause you're the only one within my heart - I was born to make you happy - Always and forever you and me - That's the way our life should be - I don't know how to live without your love - I was born to make you happy_ _(Britney Spears - Born to Make you Happy)_  


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**Chapter 14 - Party Time**

Reno slammed his shot glass onto the table top, wiping a hand across his mouth.

"Reno, you have to slow down, you know? You'll run out of free drinks in half an hour at this rate." Rufus moaned as he slumped further into his chair. The red haired Turk smirked. 

"Or more precisely, you don't wanna buy me more than ya have to, right?"

"Exactly, so if you would be most generous and pass out now, I'd be happy for the rest of the night." Reno laughed. He patted the blonde on the back.

"No chance mate." He slammed another glass on the table. "I have an idea." He grinned. "I say we should make grouch here," He pointed to Rufus, "Have a drinking contest with someone of my choice, since I'm the birthday boy." The President scowled.

"Alright, if it makes you shut up." Reno clapped excitedly like a little child.

"Yay. Ok I pick........" he looked around the table where everyone was sat, stopping at the blonde Turk. "Elly." She looked up.

"Huh?" She asked.

"Hundred gil says Elly wins." Rude spoke up from where he was sat. Rufus scowled even more.

"I can out drink a girl any day." He mumbled. Reno laughed.

"I bet ya you've passed out before she's even tipsy." The blonde man glared at the Turk.

"You're on."

"Do I get a say in this?" Elena asked. Reno leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"He's already had one, another two and he's gone. I know for a fact that untouched drink in front of you is your first. Come on El, it'll be fun." He leaned away from her ear and sipped another drink he had. She smiled and nodded.

"Alright."

"Before we start this drinking contest........." Scarlet spoke up from where she was sat, staring at her glass. She looked up and smirked. She bent down and picked something up, putting it in the middle of the table. Rufus groaned, everyone else laughed. It was the game of Frazzle. "Ruffie here has one more go to do this game. If he doesn't do it, the game will go Elly to see if she can outsmart the big bad President." The blonde man glared at her. He then turned to the game and took the handle. He managed to move about two inches before the the handle took the metal strip. He swore and threw the handle away from him. It bounced on the table, when the cord it was attached to ran out. Reno sniggered. 

"Oh yea fine. Pick on the big bad President why don't you?" Rufus snapped. "I'd like to see Elena do better." The blonde Turk smirked and took the handle. 

"I'll have you know I've been practicing." Rufus stared at her and groaned. He mumbled something that no one could catch. Elena went round the maze in record time, without touching the metal. The President groaned even more. Reno laughed. He then leaned over to Elena and without thinking anything of it, pecked her on the cheek.

"And the girls outwit Ruffie." He shouted, sipping his drink again. The blonde Turk smiled. "Let the drinking competition commence!" And that's what happened. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Half an hour later, Rufus was laid on a few bar seats, passed out. Elena and Reno were staring at him. The red head smiled.

"What did I tell ya?" The blonde smiled back.

"He's a sissy." She started giggling. Rude came over and threw the blonde man over his shoulder. 

"Everyone's making tracks, so I thought I'd drag this home." He said pointing to the President slung on his shoulder. Reno nodded, as Rude took off towards the door everyone else had already gone out of, leaving the other two Turks alone. The red head looked at the blonde.

"Want me to walk you home?" Elena nodded. They made their way out the door, onto the streets of the upper plate. The blonde looked up at the stars. Reno noticed her staring up into the sky. "Pretty aren't they?"

"Yeah....." She whispered softly. Her gaze wandered to the huge fiery rock, which also plagued the sky. She frowned. She started wondering if Avalanche were going to get rid of Sephiroth and the meteor. That seemed like the only option now. Reno caught her frowning. He put his arm round her and squeezed.

"It'll go away....." He trailed off.

"I hope so." She whispered. "I don't wanna die........" She trailed off. He squeezed her a little tighter.

"None of us do." They stopped at her front door. She found her keys out of her shoulder bag and unlocked it. She looked at the red head.

"Wanna come in?" She asked. Reno smiled.

"Sure." Elena smiled. Reno walked in and vaulted over her couch and sat down, while the room was still in total darkness.. The blonde just giggled and shook her head. She walked over the the sofa, turning on a nearby lamp. 

"You'll never grow up will you?" The red head grinned.

"Nope." His face then went serious. Elena frowned. "El, come and sit here with me." He patted the space on the couch next to him.

"What's up?" She asked, timidly. Reno took a deep breath.

"You know how you said if I find someone I should tell them and not leave it too long?" Elena stared at him for a moment.

"Yeah......" She whispered. The red haired Turk looked down at his feet.

"I like you Elena." He whispered. The blonde smiled, putting her hand onto of his, which was resting on his knee. He looked at her.

"I like you too." He looked a bit puzzled to start with. She giggled. "Is that so hard to believe?" He smiled and shook his head. He gazed at her for a minute. She gazed at his face. She was lost in his turquoise coloured eyes. He put his hand on her cheek. She smiled. "You have no idea how much I like you."

"I think I have an idea." He whispered. He leaned over to her, edging closer and closer. Her hand trailed down to his shoulder blade as he got closer. She closed her eyes as he pressed his lips against hers, kissing her slowly. His hands found their way around her waist, while hers ended up wrapped in his blood red hair. They parted. Elena blushed a little. Reno smiled and cocked his head. "See, I told you I had an idea." She hit him lightly on the arm, before she leaned over and pressed against his lips again, this time a more passionate than before. He put his hands onto her shoulders and pushed her down onto the couch, still kissing. He stopped and looked into her deep brown eyes. He grinned. She tried to glare at him, but starting laughing instead.

"You're making me nervous with that grin." He gave her a quick peck on the lips. 

"You have every reason to be." He leaned down and started kissing her neck, with little kisses. She started giggling. He reached over to where he thought the lamp was. Finding it he switched it off. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rufus woke up the next day to find himself in a unfamiliar place. He blinked. His head was thumping like a dance record beat. He laid back down on the bed. Bed? He sat straight back up, giving himself a head rush. He shook his head to try and get rid of it. Opening his eyes, he observed the room. It defiantly wasn't his. He stared at the wallpaper, it was flowery. It had red and pink roses among a cream background. He frowned. Deciding not to contemplate where he was, he laid back down. Sniffing the pillow it strangely smelt of........ His though was interrupted when the door opened. A head poked round the door.

"I was wondering when you would wake up." Rufus looked at the blonde woman with a shocked expression then it changed to a more puzzled look.

"How the hell did I end up here?" He muttered, rubbing his head. She laughed.

"Don't get any ideas." Scarlet said. "I was sleeping on the fold out couch." She laughed again as Rufus sighed in relief. " After you passed out, Rude was going to take you home, but I told him to bring you here since it was nearer." The President nodded, then laid back down. 

"Remind me never to do that again." A little red haired boy then ran into the room.

"Uncle Ruffie!" Rufus looked up.

"Oh god no......" He muttered. The boy jumped onto the bed and started bouncing up and down. The blonde just carried on laying there, bouncing around on the bed as Callum jumped. The boy fell on his bottom and stopped. Rufus sat up. "What's he doing here?" Callum stuck his tongue out.

"I'm babysitting. Actually Reno should be here soon." She looked at the blonde man more intently. "I'll get you something for that hangover of yours. You'll need it." He nodded as she left the room. He built up his strength to stand up and follow her to the kitchen. Leaning against the doorway when he got there, Scarlet handed him a glass. He took it and drank it all down in one go, pulling a face when he was done.

"What the fuck is this stuff?" She laughed.

"It works though right?" Rufus thought for a minute. It was working, his headache was already clearing. 

"Where did you......."

"Get it right?" She cut him off. "Just something I made once for someone......." She trailed off. She was saved by a knock at the door. She opened it to see Rude and Reeve standing there. She frowned. "What are you two doing here?" Reeve grinned. 

"I just heard a little birdie tell me that Rufus was here." Scarlet looked at the bald Turk. 

"Nothing to do with me, he just followed." Both of the men walked in. 

"You've missed all the fun of the hangover though." She chuckled. She shut the door behind her. 

"Actually there's another reason we're here. You have Callum right?" The black haired man asked. Scarlet nodded. "That's all I needed to know." Him and Rude both started chuckling. The blonde woman just looked at them strangely. There was a knock on the door again. Scarlet left the two man to their laughing to answer it. Reno was stood there, smiling like an idiot, with Elena beside him, her hand in his. Scarlet looked behind her, at the other two men, then back at the red head and the blonde. 

"Damn it!" Scarlet heard the black haired Shinra Executive shout behind her. She shook her head.

"What you got a party in there or something?" Reno asked her. She let the two Turks in as Reeve was giving hundred gil to Rude, who was grinning. Scarlet stared laughing.

"So that's why you're here." She said. Elena snatched her hand back from Reno's, hoping no one had seen. Rude just started laughing more. 

"I bet Reeve that you two would be going out within a month and I win."

"Ah, but only just my friend." Reeve said slumping into a chair near by.

"Aw, now that's just not on." Reno said. Rude stopped laughing. Reno then grinned and put his arm around him. "I'll be fine about it if you buy me a couple of drink with your new found fortune, my friend." He slapped the bald man on the back. Rufus coughed from the back of the room. Everyone looked at him. 

"What the hell happened after I fell asleep last night?" He asked. 

"You ended up here. enough said." Reno told him. Rufus cocked an eyebrow. 

"Hardy ha ha." He said sarcastically. 

"After everyone went home, I walked Elly home and ended up stopping there." The red head put his arm around Elena, who smiled. 

"And now we go out." She added. Everyone smiled at them. The black haired man decided to interrupt the silence.

"Oh Rufus?" He asked, sat in a chair. 

"Yes?" The blonde asked puzzled. 

"I was hoping to catch you in your still drunken state, but this will do. I want a raise." He said grinning.

"And what makes you think I'll give you a raise?" Rufus asked, slowly. Reeve patted his top pocket, then pulled a picture out showing it to Rufus, who snatched it out of his hand. It was a picture of Rufus dressed in a bunny rabbit suit. It looked like the photo had been taken quite recently. 

"Where did you....." He whispered, trailing off. He then started to turn red. Reeve jumped out the chair and ran out the door. Rufus chasing him, leaving the photo on the floor. Reno picked it up as everyone gathered round to look. They all just burst out laughing.

_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_


	16. Chapter 15 Weapon Attacks

**Scars of the Past**

_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_Heaven Knows it's a lonely way living on my own - I never thought that I would be this far from all I know - I gave you all the love in me, - But love is blind and now I see - The fool I've been believing you loved me - I waited so long for you - Now what am I supposed to do? - One day believe me you'll be sorry - You're gonna feel this pain - One day you'll see me and remember - The promises you made - Just wait and see how you'll be sorry - One day your sky's gonna rain - One day believe me, you'll come running - Back to me again_ _(Steps - You'll be Sorry)_  


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
**Chapter 15 - Weapon Attacks**

Rufus yawned, leaning on his desk as Scarlet, Heidegger and Reeve walked into his office. He glared at them as if he didn't want to be there one bit. 

"Ok I want to make this short. The Mako Cannon is up and ready to go. It's going to be using the Mako reactors power as a bullet." He changed his glance to look at Reeve. "That's why, Reeve. It's your job to adjust the reactor's output." Reeve looked away from the President.

"I see." Rufus kept his glance on the black haired man for a few minutes then sighed. Scarlet stepped forward a little.

"Hah, hah, hah! Don't worry about adjusting it, Reeve." She punched thin air. "Once you open it up all the way everything will go full speed!" Rufus shook his head.

"Gya hah, hah, hah! The President's sure done it this time! If we can only defeat Sephiroth, the idea that Meteor will also disappear is based on different objectives!" Heidegger shouted, jumping around the room. The President sighed. The blonde woman wagged her finger at Rufus.

"Please remember, Mr. President... It was my idea to fire Mako reactor powered shells." The blonde man flicked the hair out of his eyes, and looked towards the surface of his desk.

"Will the shells really reach the far northern border?"

"Ah, hah hah! Of course!" She spun around to look at the cannon, that could be seen from the President's office. "But Mr. President, please do not call it a Mako cannon. This new weapon will be called......"She continued, turning back round, staring right at Rufus. "The Sister Ray!" The blonde man nodded and stood up, walking towards his window. Scarlet spun round and walked out the room, Heidegger following close behind her. Reeve reached into his jacket and turned off a receiver. He turned to Rufus.

"You sure we're doing the right thing?" The President nodded. 

"This is the last resort. The Sister ray is the only resource we've got left to throw at him. If this doesn't work, we can only hope Avalanche do something....." He trailed off, letting his forehead land on the glass. Reeve put a hand on Rufus' shoulder.

"You're probably right." The black haired man began to walk over to the door. As he reached the door frame, the whole building began to shake. Both Rufus and Reeve fell to the floor.

"What the fuck is that?" The President shouted over the rumble. It then stopped dead. Reeve looked up.

"Weapon."

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"So tell me again why we are in the sewers?" Elena asked, as she stared at the green goo that was on her boot. She didn't even want to know what it was. Rude just looked at her as Reno sighed.

"Because we were ordered to....." The red head muttered. He lifted his foot up quick. "Ah shit, it's seeping through." The blonde started giggling. She stopped as the water in the sewers started to tremble on it's own. Then the everything around them started to shake. Rude managed to maintain his balance, while Reno and Elena feel face first into the water underneath their feet. The bald Turk just grinned. The red head lifted his head up first. "This is just great." He mumbled. Elena soon followed.

"Shit, I think I swallowed something." She yelled as she was spluttering. "What the hell was that?" Rude shrugged his shoulders.

"How the hell should I know??" Reno shouted back. The blonde just glared. 

"This is just gonna be one of these days." She mumbled to herself as she started walking off down the tunnel. Reno and Rude following her. The red haired Turk caught up with Elena and put his arm round her.

"Cheer up babe, at least you're not the only one covered in this shit." She smiled.

"You always know how to cheer people up, even when they're covered in what could possible be shit." Reno pulled a face. 

"You didn't need to remind me about that part." She laughed. Reno swore, removing his arm from her and dove into his top pocket while he was mumbling. He found what he was looking for. Shaking it a little, he put it up to his ear and grinned. Elena looked at him strangely. "Still works."

"Ah" The blonde said as it clicked in her mind what it was. "You gonna see if they know what it is......." Reno nodded. The three gathered round the device to listen in.

_ "This ain't good... Weapon came out of the sea and is heading straight for Midgar." Came Cait's voice through the receiver._

_ "The new weapon should stop him, right?" Cloud asked._

_ "I don't know if it's ready or not..."_

_ "Hey! What's gonna happen to Marlene!?" Came Barret's stocky voice_

_ "Doncha worry none, Marlene's in a safe place. She's with Aeris' mama......... Barret!!.......... What was that scratching just now!? As long as Marlene is safe, who cares what else happens, right? I been itchin' to say this to ya fer a while now! When ya blew the Midgar No. 1 up, how many folks d'ya think died?"_

_ "...that was for the life of the planet. Ya gotta expect a few casualties." The black man mumbled._

_ "A few? Whaddya mean 'a few'? What may be a few to y'all is everything to them who died...... Protect the planet. Hah! Y'all sure sound good! Ain't no one that'd go against ya. So ya think ya can do whatever y'all want?" Cait yelled._

_ "I don't wanna hear that from no one in Shinra..." Barret mumbled again._

_ "......nuthin' I can do 'bout that..."_

"Go Cait Sith." Reno muttered. 

_ "Stop it!" Cloud shouted._

_ "Cait Sith...... Barret, he knows what he did. What we did in Midgar can't be forgotten no matter what the reason. Right? We haven't forgotten, right? I know you. You can't quit the company because you're worried about the people in Midgar, right? ......Cloud?" Came Tifa's voice through the device._

_ "OK! Let's go! We'll beat Weapon ourselves!"_

The device fizzled out. Reno threw into the sewage water below them. 

"Damn machine..... Come on we'll go back up top." The other two Turks nodded and followed the red head. 

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Rufus was stood staring out of his office window, at the fight going on a few miles away from Midgar, between Emerald Weapon and Avalanche. He also watched, as Avalanche made their way back to the Highwind, leaving the Weapon standing there. Rufus felt like the beast was staring straight at him. Maybe it was even laughing, he couldn't tell. Heidegger's voice through his intercom interrupted his train of thoughts. 

_ "Hah, hah, hah, Mr. President, preparations for Sister Ray are now in order."_ Rufus turned to face the intercom. 

_ "Hah, hah, hah! Anytime is fine." _Scarlet's voice added. The blonde man turned back towards the window and nodded. 

"......Fire." He watched below as the Mako reactors powered up to feed the Sister Ray with it's much needed energy. One by one the reactors managed to power up, letting Mako energy flow through the pipes connected to the huge gun, hanging over Midgar. The cannon began to shake, as a purple coloured halo appeared round the end of the gun. Rufus watched in awe. He'd never seen anything like it. The halo then disappeared into the end of the cannon. After a few seconds, a blue beam shot out the end, heading towards the huge silver coloured beast in the countryside beyond. All the windows in the building shattered, the blonde backed away a little as the cold Midgar air, gushed into the room. Rufus stared as Weapon noticed the huge beam of light heading it's way, and retaliated with it's own attack. Several short beams of yellow light shot off towards Midgar. The blue beam blasted through Emerald Weapon and continued on to it's destination. Rufus grinned. Maybe the plan was going to work after all. The beast fell to the floor, bouncing a little. Still staring through the window, Rufus heard the intercom go off again. 

_ "Sir! Weapon's been defeated!! The barrier has disappeared!"_ He moved back towards his desk, looking up at the ceiling as the operator spoke again. _ "Sir! A mass of high-density energy is heading towards Midgar!"_ Rufus sighed, moving back to the window. He continued watching as the yellow lights got closer. 

"Guess I'm not any better off than you old man." He mumbled. He stood motionlessly, as some of the first beams hit the tower. He blinked. He then noticed one of the yellow beams heading straight for him. Another one hit the building, making the blonde lose his balance a little. He doubled over as a blast hit the actual office, consuming everything. Several shots followed, destroying the top top floors of the Shinra building, including anyone who was up there. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Reno watched, his mouth wide open as the top floors of the Shinra Tower went up in flames. 

"Holy Shit...." Elena stood beside him, Rude on her other side. They all just stared at the yellow flames that had engulfed the building. 

"Does that mean he's..........." She trailed off. 

"I don't know El." Rude answered. 

"What's gonna happen now........" No one answered the blonde. Reno turned round and marched back into the sewers. Elena looked at Rude then followed him. "Where are you going Reno?" She whispered as she caught up with him. He spun back round to look at her. 

"I just couldn't stop there looking at that!" He shouted. Elena stood back at little. He sighed. "Too much shit has been happening lately............. I just wish it would all go away." He said more quietly. She stepped back up to him, leaned her head against his chest and hugged him around his waist. 

"It'll all be over soon." He sighed again. 

"Yeah, but how many of us will be left." He whispered, hugging her back. 

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"Scarlet! Heidegger! What's going on?" Reeve asked as he walked into the Board Room, Scarlet was stood staring at the black haired man, while Heidegger had a phone pressed up against his ear. The fat man turned towards to two other Shinra Executives in the room. 

"Strange. I can't reach the President." Reeve looked at Heidegger. 

"Not the President. To Sister Ray!" He asked, nearly shouting. He knew damn well what had happened to Rufus, he didn't need to think about it. Scarlet was still looking at him. 

"Ha, ha, ha. What is it Reeve? You're speaking strangely." She said. Reeve shook his head. 

"None of that matters! The reactor's output is increasing all by itself!" He shouted. Scarlet looked shocked. 

"Ww, wait a minute. That's not wise! It must be cool for three hours or it won't work. Reeve, shut off the machine!" He shook his head again. 

"We can't do that! It's inoperable!" He pulled out his PHS and held it up to his ear. 

_ "Someone has switched the machine over to mainframe operation! We can't operate it from here." _Said a voice on the other end of the phone. 

"What about the mainframe? Who!?" He turned to Heidegger. "Hey, call the mainframe!" The man picked up his phone, then frowned and put it back in his pocket. 

"Huh? Why are you giving orders?" He asked.  
  
"I don't give a damn about the details!!" Reeve continued listening into his phone as the operator connected him to the intercom, that was situated at the mainframe, at the top platform of the Sister Ray. 

_ "Ha, ha, ha...... Just you wait, Sephiroth. I'll give you all the Mako you want." _ The voice that was heard said. Reeve knew instantly who it was 

"Hojo, STOP! The cannon, no, Midgar itself is in danger!" Reeve could just imagine Hojo smirking. 

_ "Ha, ha, ha...... One or two Midgars? ...It's a small price to pay."_

"Hojo! HOJO......!!" The mad scientist didn't answer. Reeve could hear him ranting on though. 

_ "Show me...... Sephiroth. It should be near... Ha, ha, ha...... Go beyond the powers of science... Before your presence, science is powerless... I hate it, but I'll concede to it. Just... let me see it. Ha, ha, ha......"_ Reeve then cut off his phone. He shook his head. Trying to listen to two conversations at the same time wasn't helping him. 

"We're sunk. Hojo's doing this on his own......" Reeve looked at Heidegger, who had an evil gleam on his face. "...? ...? H, huh!? I don't like this......" He looked down towards the floor. "......We can't stop it." Heidegger was still staring. "I can't make you trust me......" Heidegger's expression changed for a split second then went back to a smirk. 

"We'll have to shut down the reactors........." Scarlet whispered, so low that Reeve's couldn't have heard her. 

"No way! If we shut down the reactor, all hell will break loose!!" She looked up at the black haired man, and Heidegger, who was still grinning. Scarlet clicked on what was happening and shook her head. Reeve carried on talking. "Yeah, it's easy to shut off the reactor's pipe valves...... But the reactor made a path for the energy to escape from below. Once you open that, it'll be impossible to close it until everything blasts out... And we can't try to stop the energy from gushing out........" 

"An explosion....." Scarlet whispered. Reeve looked at her. 

"This blast'll be way stronger than when the number one reactor blew up!" He looked at Heidegger. "Looks like Cloud and the others are on their way. Stay out of the way!" 

"Ghaa haah hah hah! Don't be so ludicrous! I don't recall you giving me any orders! The Peace Preservation will give their best effort to make the enemy retreat!" The fat man stamped his foot. "Because of them, I...... I..!" Reeve shook his head. 

"That's a private matter......" 

"The President is dead! Now I'm doing things my way! Ghaa haah hah hah!" Heidegger raised his arm and pointed towards the black haired man. Two guards appeared. Reeve looked at them and sighed. 

"Hey! Wait!!" He shook his head. "Cloud, everybody! Sorry...... But!! But you'll come, won't you!?" He whispered. Scarlet sighed as the two guards dragged the black haired Shinra executive out of the room. 

_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_


	17. Chapter 16 Proud Clod

**Scars of the Past**

_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_Here and now I wanna be the one for you - In everything you want me to - Cos I couldn't live if were apart - Time is running out on you and me - Cos nothings what it used to be - I guess I'm the only one to blame - But I promise you to make it right - Forget all the sorrows you bear within tonight - Believe in me when I say_ _ (Steps - Here and Now)_  


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**Chapter 16 - Proud Clod**

Reno was kneeling down, on a raised part of the sewers. Elena was stood, leaning against a wall about a foot behind the red head, while Rude was squatting on his knees, leaning against the same wall as the blonde about a foot beside her. Elena sighed. None of them had talked much since the top floors of the Shinra Tower had blown up. She turned her head to look at Reno's back.

"What are we still doing down here?" She whispered, trying not to break the silence too much. Reno turned his head to look at her out of the corner of his eye. 

"It's safer than up there isn't it?" He whispered back. The blonde pushed herself away from the wall.

"For fuck sake Reno! Your kid is up there!" She pointed upwards in the direction the of Shinra building. "So what the fuck are you doing down here?" She shouted. Reno stood up sharp and stared her straight in the eye. 

"Because I'm scared........" He whispered. She took a step back from him. "I don't wanna know if anything has happened to him." He kneeled back down. Elena sighed again. Rude stood up from his position.

"What about Reeve?" Reno stood back up again.

"Shit........ What if fat bastard realised what Ruffie and him were planning?"

"Won't Scarlet stop him from doing anything?" Elena asked. Reno turned to her. 

"She would have to get away from him first, which would be damn right impossible since he'll want to use Proud Clod to try and stop Avalanche."

"You sure they'll use Proud Clod?" The blonde asked. Rude shrugged.

"They have nothing else to use." Reno turned sharply to look at an entrance nearby.

"Shhhhhhh" He pointed towards the doorway. "Someone's coming." Elena watched as members of Avalanche came down the ladder, landing onto the old subway tracks below them.

"Oh no! They're here!" She said. Reno glared at her. "Sorry it just slipped out." He turned back to look at the eight members who were deciding where to go next. "What are we going to do?" Elena asked. The red head grinned.

"We're going to have a little chat." The blonde looked at Rude.

"Oh this is going to be fun...." She said, sarcastically. Rude just nodded. The blonde sighed and ran off in front of Reno. The red head looked back at Rude.

"What's the point of all this?" The bald Turk asked.

"There is no point, my stoic friend. Just gonna say something to them I should have done a long time ago." He followed Elena's lead. She ran all the way to where Avalanche were then jumped up, splashing in a nearby puddle as she hit the ground. The terrorists all turned round to look at her. She smiled.

"Well hello there." She said in a smug voice. Reno just started laughing. Shaking his head, he walked up to where Elena was and put his arm round her. 

"Yeah El, that's the way to greet them." He said sardonically. He looked at the blonde headed leader of Avalanche. "Ya know, we've never actually been ordered to kill you." He laughed again as he saw the puzzled luck he got from Cloud. 

"How come you always attacked us then?" 

"We never did on purpose. You always assumed we were out to kill you so we went along." Elena said quietly from beside the red head. Reno nodded. 

"I'm not going to say anything about the reactors." He saw Barret roll his eyes. "Because I know none of you give a shit."

"That's not true......" Tifa said softly. Reno looked at her. "I think about it all the time." Cloud looked at her now. "How many people did we kill when we blew up the reactors?" The brunette looked at the coloured man, who looked at the floor. Reno coughed before speaking.

"Well after the fat ass President died, we were never out to kill you. Hell, we all thought you'd end up doing better than we ever would." Cloud looked puzzled again. "We kept it on the quiet, well Rufus did anyway. We have a certain employer who control whole armies who hate your guts."

"Heidegger, right?" The blonde man asked. Reno nodded.

"He's still out for your guts. So you'd better watch out for him."

"Are you helping us?" Vincent asked from the background. Reno twiddled his thumbs.

"Maybe......" He whispered. "You're kinda the world's only hope since Shinra's gone......." He trailed off and turned around, removing his arm from around the blonde girl. "Farewell. If we both survive... If we can save our lives..." Elena stared at Avalanche for a minute, then smiled.

"Remember the spirit of the Turks...!" She shouted running after Reno. The red head just laughed at her. She thumped him one when she caught up with him. Rude looked over his shoulder and nodded.

"Our mission's finished..." He strode to catch up with the other two Turks who were now caught up in a pushing fight.

"Remember the spirit of the Turks...!" Reno squealed in a girly voice.

"Shut up!" The blonde shouted. She pushed him, he lost his footing and landed in the sewage water yet again. She started smiling. Reno glared at her, mumbling obscenities.

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Reeve was sat in a prison cell, leaning his chin on his hand, that was propped up using his elbow on his knee. He sighed. God how much he hated Heidegger. The man had no idea how to handle anything. Reeve looked up sharp as the lock of the prison door made a noise. The door opened revealing a blonde woman.

"Scarlet?" He asked quietly. She nodded. 

"Managed to get away from fat ass for longer than two minutes." She joked. Callum was hid in between her legs, shaking a little. "Look Reeve, I want you to get out of here. Take Callum with you and go to Kalm." She pushed the red headed child towards Reeve. The boy seemed a little reluctant to go. 

"Where are you going?" He asked. She sighed. 

"I've got to go back before fat bastard notices."

"Scarlet you......"

"I do" She cut him off. "I'm giving you the chance to get the hell away from this dump. Just go ok." She walked off. Reeve sighed and shook his head. He had a feeling he'd never see that woman again. Callum tugged the black haired man's trouser leg. 

"Where's Grandma going?" He asked in a sleepy voice. Reeve looked at the boy for a while.

"She's just gone to sort something out." He stood up and held out his hand. "Why don't you and I get out of here? We'll go to Kalm and see Marlene." Callum's smiled.

"Ok." The boy grabbed hold of the older man's hand as tight as he could. Reeve smiled. 

"Reeve!" He heard a faint female voice shouting him. He walked out the cell, dragging the little red head with him. Elena darted around the corner, nearly bumping into the man. "There you are!" She shouted. He winced a bit.

"I'm right here El, no need to yell." She smiled. 

"Thank god, I thought fat bastard had gotten to you first."

"He did. Scarlet just let me out like five minutes ago." Elena frowned.

"Where she gone now?"

"Back to Heidegger." Reeve told her. Reno came round the corner.

"Daddy!" Callum shouted, before latching onto the red haired Turks' trouser leg. 

"Hey kiddo." He bent down to the child's eye level, ruffling the boy's hair. "Why she gone back to Heidegger?" He asked the other man. Reeve shrugged.

"She just said she had to get back." He leaned against the wall. Callum interrupted the silence. 

"Are we going to Kalm?" Reno looked at the boy. "Grandma said we should go to Kalm." Callum smiled. "I can see Marlene again." The Turk smiled.

"Yeah we'll go to Kalm." Reeve looked around.

"Where's Rude?"

"He's waiting outside." Elena said. She smirked. The black haired man looked nervously at the blonde.

"I don't wanna know do I?" Elena smirked even more.

"Nope."

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Scarlet sat in the Proud Clod, setting it all up ready to intervene Avalanche. She groaned. She had a huge feeling that even the Proud Clod wouldn't stop the terrorists from getting through. Not that she didn't want them to. The whole of Midgar would blow up, if Hojo wasn't stopped. Oh how Scarlet hated Hojo. He was a mad freaky psychopathic weirdo. The king of freaky stuff. She tried her best to stay away from him, only going near him during board meetings, another thing she loathed. She heard Heidegger come up behind her.

"Is this piece of junk ready? Avalanche are nearly here." He shouted in her ear. She gritted her teeth together.

"Yes it's ready." She spat out. She stood up and turned to look at him. She let out a small laugh, shaking her head. "You have no idea do you?" He stood back from her a little.

"What do you...."

"The Proud Clod is going to explode when Avalanche fight it and me and you will go bye byes." She waved at him as she said the last two words.

"You're being......"

"Stupid?" She interrupted again. "Nah I'm not. I'm being logical." She got out her seat and stood close by to the Shinra executive. "Avalanche aren't going to be stopped. There's no use in trying."

"Stop your whining." Heidegger shouted. "They're here." Scarlet looked through the window of the machine to see the eight members stood nearby. She sighed. 

"Sit down then fat ass." She said. Moving her hand to the lever, she pulled it to her. The machine jerked, making Heidegger trip over the top of his seat. She giggled. She might as well have the last laugh. She scowled at him. "I thought I told you to sit down."

"Yeah yeah......." He mumbled, sitting down at his seat. Scarlet then pushed the lever away from her. The Proud Clod moved one of it feet. She messed around with some other buttons, making the machine move forward towards the group in front of them. 

"G'yaaa, Haaa, Haaa!!! Here they come!" Heidegger stepped out of his seat, opening a door so he could go out and greet the terrorists. Stepping out onto the hand that Scarlet had held up for him, he spoke. "You sure did treat us like dogs up to now!!" He laughed. "G'yaaa, Haaa, Haaa!!! But let's see how you do against anti-Weapon artillery! What do you say to that Scarlet?"

"Go and fuck a tree for all I care, fat bastard!" She shouted through the intercom. Some of the members of Avalanche grinned a little. This just made Heidegger mad. He stared at the window for a while, then stormed back into the machine.

"What the hell was that for?" He shouted, sitting back in the seat.

"I'm telling you this isn't a good idea........"

"I don't care. I'm not letting Shinra go down without a fight."

"Heidegger, it's already gone." Scarlet turned Proud Clod onto Auto Pilot to fight Avalanche. She turned to the man. "Look I don't want this as much as you but it's over." He stared out the window, staring at the still burning Shinra Tower. The Proud Clod rocked about as a lightning attack hit it. Scarlet shut her eyes. 

"Maybe you're right...." He muttered. Scarlet nodded and looked at the controls. 

"It's going to blow soon." She whispered. Heidegger nodded. The machine began to shudder, glowing bright white as the mechanics started to overheat. She turned to Heidegger. "It's been nice knowing you." She then shut her eyes. Heidegger started for a moment, seeing a tear drop from Scarlet's closed eye.

"You too." He whispered almost inaudibly. The Proud Clod trembled even more, electrical sparks started to sprout off the machine. It then glowed an even brighter white, crackling even more. Scarlet closed her eyes even tighter. The machine fell to it's knees. Making it's last shudder, the machine blew up, taking whoever was in there with it.

_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_


	18. Chapter 17 An Happy Ending

**Scars of the Past**

_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_I don't like to be alone at night - And I don't like to hear I'm wrong when I'm right - And I don't like to have the rain on my shoes - But I do love you - But I do love you - I don't like to see the sky painted grey - And I don't like when, nothin's goin my way - And I don't like to be the one with the blues - But I do love you - But I do love you _ _(Leann Rimes - But I do Love you)_  


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**Chapter 17 - An Happy Ending**

The Turks, Reeve and Sarah, who they had picked up before leaving, walked out of the sector five exit of Midgar. Reno turned around to take, what he thought would probably be his last look at the city. The huge lump of metal that used to be the greatest conurbation in the world was fast turning into the worst. There was an explosion close to the Sister Ray tower, which could have been nothing else but the Proud Clod. The red head sighed. Scarlet knew what she was getting herself into by staying with the fat bastard, but she wouldn't listen. Elena came up from behind him, draping her arm around his shoulders.

"As much as I hate this place, I'm kinda gonna miss it." Reno whisper quietly. The blonde looked at him for a second then turned back to look at the city.

"Me too." She took another look at him. "Come on. We'd better get going." Reno nodded to her, turned around and started the others. Elena sighed and followed. She looked up at the huge meteor that was now really close to hitting Midgar. "Bye Midgar." She whispered, catching up with the rest.

"Well, I never thought I'd be one of the last people in Shinra." She heard Reno say as she managed to catch them. Rude gave him a pat on the back.

"I don't think anyone expected you to be either." The blonde Turk giggled.

"Hey, now come on!" The red head protested. "I'm not that bad."

"Reno, admit it, your an accident prone." Reeve told him. The red haired Turk sighed.

"I know." Elena giggled some more. Silence then followed. No one knew what to talk about. Callum was walking in between Reno and Elena, holding both their hands. Reeve, Rude and Sarah were walking a little in front. Elena broke the silence.

"Where's this house we're going to Reeve?" The black haired man turned round.

"It's my house." Everyone but Rude looked puzzled.

"You didn't live in Midgar?" Reno asked.

"Hell no." He laughed. "Kalm is much more nicer."

"Man, you're dissing the City you built. What's the world coming to?" The red head muttered.

"I didn't exactly have much of a choice in what to do. I was told, I just had to plan it all." Reeve sighed. "And because of that I always refused to live there."

"I would too." Sarah spoke up. Reeve smiled at her. He then frowned. 

"What's up?" Rude asked the other man. 

"Avalanche are fighting Sephiroth." No one said anything to that. They just all carried on walking.

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"I'm a little teapot, short and spout...." Sang Marlene as she was laid down on the floor of Reeve's house, colouring in a picture of a flower. Elmyra watched the girl, nursing a cup of tea in her hand. She smiled sadly. Marlene reminded her so much of Aries when she was Marlene's age. She heard the front door open and rose from her seat to go and have a look. She peeped around the kitchen doorway to see Reeve and the rest. Reno and Sarah were arguing about something, Rude was shaking his head at them, while Elena was giggling. 

"Marlene!" The little red head boy shouted, running past Elmyra. Marlene looked up from her colouring and smiled.

"Callum!" She shouted, still lying down. The little red head found her, he stopped dead and smiled.

"See, I got to see you again." Marlene smiled back. She looked at the picture.

"I made this for you." She said holding the piece of paper out to the boy. He took it and looked at it for a while. He then smiled even more.

"Thank you." He said quietly. He ran up to the girl and hugged her, making her take a step back. She was stunned for a couple of seconds before she hugged back. 

"You're welcome." He let go and smiled at her. He then frowned.

"I have to make you something." She giggled at him.

"It's ok you don't have to right now." Her glance turned to the window. "Want to come and watch the big thing in the sky?" Callum nodded. The both walked over to the window.

"I'm telling you Sarah, Rude's birthday is on the 10th!" Reno shouted.

"Reno, he's my husband and it's on the 7th!" Sarah shouted back.

"10th!"

"7th!"

"Rude?" The red head asked looking at the bald Turk. He shook his head.

"7th Reno." Reno smacked his thigh.

"Damn." Sarah giggled. 

"Told you." She said, sticking her tongue out. 

"So childish." Elena said, shaking her head. She then giggled again. 

"Hey!" Reno shouted at her. she just carried on giggling. Reeve was still frowning at this point. The red head looked at him. "Still fighting?" Reeve nodded. 

"Yeah. Meteor is getting too close for my liking." 

"Mine too." Reno whispered. Reeve's eyes then lit up.

"They did it!" He shouted.

"Huh?" Elena said.

"Sephiroth's dead." Elena frowned.

"How come meteor is still there then?" She said, pointing to the window. Everyone ran over to the window, where the two children were still stood. The ground started to shake, as meteor reached the upper most building in Midgar, being the Shinra Tower. The group watched as the huge fiery ball demolished metal like it was pieces of thin wood. 

"This is fucked up. The bastard is dead and we're still gonna die." Reno mumbled. Elena held onto his arm. 

"Oh look, there goes our office." She chuckled a little bit. Reno just stared at her. "What? Just trying to bring a bit of humour to the situation." Reno spotted a small white lighting, which was gradually getting bigger. He pointed.

"Ok...... What's that?" Reeve looked at the light. 

"It did work then........." Reno looked at the black haired man funny.

"What worked?"

"Holy." He said. Reno still looked at him funny. "It's going to stop the meteor........" He trailed off. The light started to attack the meteor. From what the people from Kalm can see, meteor was still going strong. Small amber spots start appearing as the meteor tried to break through the barrier that was Holy. Reeve sighed. "Midgar's doomed. So is everyone who's still there." He whispered. Sarah put her arm round him. 

"It'll be ok." She told him. Reeve sighed again.

"Ok now what's that?" Reno asked, pointing again. There was a sparkle of green light coming from over a mountain range nearby. Everyone just stared at it. Holes opened up in the ground, as green tendrils made there way towards Midgar and the meteor. 

"Lifestream......." Reeve whispered after a while. "The planet is trying to save itself."

"Well I'll be......" The red head trailed off. The ground crumbled more, letting more of the Lifestream pour out. Midgar was still disintegrating, as the meteor carried on, on it's path of destruction. The Lifestream closed in on the city, like a tidal wave. It started to make a net like structure that started to enclose the huge fiery rock. Then there was a huge flash of light. Everyone in Kalm shut their eyes. Reno opened his first. "I don't believe it." He said. Everyone else opened their eyes. The Lifestream was gone, all the holes that had opened up were gone, and best of all, the meteor had completely disappeared. The sky was glowing bright blue once again, with one or two fluffy clouds. The only thing that indicated that meteor had actually been there was that the top layer of Midgar was completely destroyed. The Shinra tower was completely gone, most of the reactors were half demolished. Elena smiled.

"It's gone." She grabbed Reno and started dancing about. She laughed. "It's gone it's gone it's gone." She started chanting. Reno started laughing as well. Sarah pecked Rude on the cheek, he smiled as she smiled back. The two children had now begun to dance around the room. Reeve smiled. 

"And now we should drink to the world not ending!" 

"Reno!" Everyone else shouted.

"What? I wanna drink!" He whined. Everyone else just laughed at him. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Elena was sat on a grassy bank near Kalm, Reno sat behind her, his arms draped over her shoulders. She turned around to look at him.

"I have a question."

"Hmmm" Reno answered.

"What do we do now?" She turned back to look at the remains of Midgar. The red head sighed. 

"I have no idea El." Elena turned back round and smiled.

"I don't care what we do, as long as I'm with you." Reno started laughing. The blonde frowned. "What?"

"Sorry, It just sounded a bit cheesy." She frowned some more. "Aww come on El, I'm sorry. It's sweet ok." She sighed. " I don't care as long as I'm with you too, either El." She smiled.

"Ah ha, made you say it." Reno groaned. Elena giggled.

"It's true though."

"Aw that's so sweet." She said grabbing Reno's cheek. 

"Ouch." He said while rubbing the offending cheek. He grinned. "That's it now." He grabbed her shoulders, moved out the way and pinned her to the floor. He grinned some more as she tried to struggle. He bent down and kissed her on the lips, a sweet but short kiss. 

"And that's punishment why?" She asked.

"Who said it was?" He kissed her again. She giggled. 

"Never mind." She carried on giggling.

_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

** Owari**


End file.
